Precious
by Lenin
Summary: Sasuke wants Naruto, but he can't have him. Why? Because He is his baby Brother. SasuNaru, NejiNaru, GaaraNaru....and maybe more. Might be weird, but please try reading it first. Reviews as well.
1. Chapter One

Author's Note: The setting is still in the ninja world, but pretend as if the series never happened. Don't know if you guys would like this. The idea just came at the spur of the moment. But I promise that this is quite interesting to say the least. The characters are not mine except for Ayume but the plot is mine though. Yaoi, incest.

By the way, Itachi isn't Sasuke's brother and Sasuke isn't the last survivor of the Uchiha clan but Itachi is the one.

Title: Precious

Chapter One

Edited by: Black Fox

                 Darkness falls on the quiet village of Konoha. Every child and adult is silently sleeping in their beds, the quietness and peacefulness of the air protecting their dreams; all, except one. A tall shadowy figure walks into the night; he sways at times as if he's falling. But still continues onward, seemingly in no direction.

                In truth, he really has no idea where he is going or what he was doing walking around in such an ungodly hour. Cold air clings to the earth like a leech, a bitter, harsh wind slaps at his body like an angry wife. That was what he is feeling inside: bitterness. He neither felt nor acknowledges the coldness, just walking continually to an unknown location, letting his mind wonder. 

                "Ayume …naze….naze…?" The man whispers softly, his voice full of sorrow. " Naze Ayume…"

                He pauses in his journey as if waiting for an answer, receiving nothing in return. The silence of the night greeted him as if trying to comfort him. He felt neither comfort nor safety. 

                 Itachi's feet had carried him to a familiar place, where his wife's grave stood. The glazed look in Itachi's red eyes disappeared, being replaced with never ending sorrow. Tears slowly descended from his eyes as he sank to his knees, broken. Behind a tree, a shadow moved, walking towards the broken man silently. 

                "Itachi, it's time to go home," Kakashi told his long time friend and comrade. Too afraid to touch the man from fear of breaking him completely, Kakashi decided on just looking. " Iruka's worried sick over you."

                "Kakashi… I don't want to go back. I can't continue to live on without her! I tried, I swear, I tried really hard, but… I can't take it anymore!" Itachi cried out into the night not bothering to disguise his cracking voice. Kakashi sadly look at his friend, not sure what to do. He was never good at comforting people; that was Iruka's job. But his lover felt that Itachi would respond more to him than Iruka; thus Kakashi's predicament. Looking up to the sky, he wished that the pain Itachi was feeling would go away and everything would just return to normal, back when Ayume was still alive. But he knew that running away wouldn't help anyone, especially his friend.

                Kakashi sighs silently and returns his gaze back to Itachi, renewing his spirit to help his companion in his time of despair. Truthfully, for all the times they had been together, both in childhood and adulthood, he never seen Itachi like this. Sure, the man had some sorrowful times, but not like this.  Itachi was always smiling, laughing, teasing. Heck, he made it a habit to irritate the copycat ninja and his life's goal to force Kakashi to remove his mask, permanently. He was, most of the time, extremely annoying to be with, but Kakashi wouldn't trade Itachi's company for anything.

                He remembered when Itachi never lost his smiling face no matter what the circumstances maybe and he forced Kakashi to do the same, saying that the ninja was way too serious for his own good. Then Ayume came. She turned the tiger into a pussycat within minutes. Itachi was putty in her hands and Kakashi turned the tables around, finally having the opportunity to tease the last survivor of the Uchiha clan to no ends. 

                Itachi was always extremely possessive over Ayume. She was his life. But still, Kakashi never expected that Itachi would take it this hard.

                Itachi's usually long glossy hair looked like some cheap rag, his clothing were dirty and torn to pieces from over use, his body thin from lack of food and his eyes… Itachi's normally bright shinning eyes were now lifeless, and broken.

                Kakashi kneeled down besides the man looking at Ayume's tomb. 

                "Itachi, I don't know the intensity of your pain. I can't even phantom it. All I know is that, Ayume is not gone. She is here," Kakashi softly said, touching his heart. " She is in here and most definitely there with yours as well."

The Uchiha turned to look at the man beside him, surprised at his words. He stares at the smiling face of Kakashi noticing that his friend took his mask off. His eyes look down to Kakashi's hand and he too touches his own heart feeling the soft, steady beat. Minutes passed and Itachi finally stands up. He closes his eyes and lifts his chin up, finally feeling the cold wind around him. But, doesn't feel cold anymore.

" Arigatou Kakashi. Honto ni Arigatou…"

~~~~~ 

_Two weeks later:_

                 Itachi sat down heavily on the chair, with a soft "thump" resounding throughout his silent room. Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, Itachi sighs out aloud. 

                "Man! I have forgotten just how hard it is to take care of a baby," Itachi mumbled to himself.

                After finally feeding, cleaning and changing the diapers, Itachi finally was able to put the bundle of energy to sleep. But sometime in the night, the baby would wake up crying once again.

                A sound coming from the door caught Itachi's attention. He looked surprise for a moment, before smiling slowly, feeling the familiar chakra of his eldest son. A mini version of Itachi stepped into the room and walked towards his father's chair. Sasuke, age three, was the spitting image of his father Itachi. His ebony hair cut short and a headband was place to keep his bangs from getting in the way. His eyes were jet black, just like Itachi's, before he used the Sharingan too much forever staining them red. Sasuke's face looked almost girlie if not for his strong chin.

 Climbing onto Itachi's lap, Sasuke settled comfortably into his father's embrace as Itachi combed Sasuke's hair out of habit.

                "What's the matter Sasuke? You are supposed to be sleeping," Itachi curiously asked his son. 

                "Otou-san, I miss Oka-san," Sasuke answered. Itachi stiffened, but slowly relaxed. Looking at Sasuke, Itachi smiled warmly, though it didn't reach his eyes. 

                "I know. I miss her too."

                 Itachi watched as Sasuke buried his head on his shoulder and started to cry a little. He patted his head and rubbed his small back soothing his son, knowing that comforting words were futile to the boy. For a child his age, Sasuke was smart, a genius even. He took his mother's death like a man and understood his father when he disappeared for two days. Itachi knew Ayume's death affected the boy greatly; after all, he was only three. But Itachi appreciated Sasuke for showing strength beyond his years.

                However, unlike most children his age, who were only starting to speak, Sasuke had no difficulty in that department. Then again, with Itachi's bloodline and as well as Ayume's, it really wasn't that surprising. Itachi knew that Sasuke would probably outshine most children and maybe even the adults, because of his genetics.

                "Gomen nasai Otou-san for being weak," Sasuke softly told his father, afraid to look at Itachi. Itachi lifts Sasuke's chin up to look directly at Sasuke's puffy eyes. "

                "It's not a weakness to cry Sasuke. Those who claim that are the ones who are the weaklings. They are afraid to acknowledge their flaws and pretend to live in their own world. That's the lowest of low. Remember that Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled slowly at his father and nodded. "Now then, you better go to sleep now or else tomorrow you won't be able to enjoy your very first picnic that Iruka is preparing just for you." 

"Hai, Otou-san." Sasuke hugged Itachi and, quickly went towards the door.  Before Sasuke completely left, he turned around and asks, " May I go look at Naru-chan?" Itachi smiled again and nodded his head in approval knowing Sasuke would go anyway even if he said no. The kid made it a habit to always go to Naruto's nursery before going to sleep. It's was as if Sasuke couldn't go to sleep without looking at his baby brother. "Just make sure you keep quiet. I don't want you to wake him up." Sasuke smiled and bid his dad goodnight before leaving the room.

Sasuke entered the dimly lit up room of his baby brother, making sure to keep his footsteps as silent as possible. He quietly crept to Naruto's crib and just watched his little brother sleep. 

The moonlight illuminated the baby, brightening his sun-kissed hair. Sasuke reached down and pulled the sheet up to properly cover the baby, afraid that he might catch a cold.

"Yakusoku Naru-chan, I'll always protect you," Sasuke whispered as he touched his brother's cheeks, outlining the whisker-like scar.

 _Flashback, three weeks ago: _

_                 Sasuke was waiting patiently for his new baby brother to arrive when his father was pulled over by a doctor. Itachi went ballistic, Kakashi having to hold down the guy as Iruka tries to calm him down. Sasuke looked with curiosity at his father then turned to his mother, she was breathing heavily, doctors and nurses rushed to and fro in panic. _

_ Sasuke stood up and walked towards Ayume as she called him over. She motioned for Sasuke to give his hand to her. Ayume took hold of it and squeezed it tightly. She looked her son in the eye and smiled a painful and sad smile. _

_"Sas-chan, listen carefully to Oka-san. Your new baby brother, Naruto-chan, is very special and because of that, people might try to hurt him both physical and mental," Ayume started to say. Sasuke's eyes grew big not understanding why anyone would want to hurt his baby brother just because he was special. "I know you won't understand yet, but you will when you grow up. I won't be there anymore and I want you to love, cherish and protect Naruto-chan. Can you do that, Sas-chan?" Ayume whispered, having a difficult time speaking. Sasuke looks at his Mother's sad eyes and answer with passion, _

_"Hai, Oka-san.__ I won't let anyone hurt him. I promise that I'll protect him." _

_ End of Flashback._

                Sasuke still didn't understand why his mother said that. Naruto was just a baby, a very cute one to boot, so why would they want to hurt him. He was so adorable with his yellow-golden hair, baby-blue eyes and cute smile. Come to think about it, he almost resembled Ayume, except he is a boy.

                Sometimes, Sasuke would see his father looking at Naruto with pain-filled eyes. Every time Sasuke asked why, Itachi would just answer that it is not yet time to tell him. Sasuke wouldn't badger him anymore, but his curiosity was still there.

"Sa, sweet dreams Naru-chan."

~~~~ 

_Three years later:_

                "Jiraiya! Get rid of these frogs this instant!" The fifth Hokage shouted with rage. Jiraiya looked at her innocently.

"I didn't do it, Tsunade-chan."

 ***BONK***  

"Don't you 'Tsunade-chan' me! You know that Naruto-chan is afraid of frogs ever since you gave him that surprise 'Frog-cake' for his third birthday," Tsunade yelled at Jiraiya, sending him a death glare that said 'Obey or I'll set ten ANBU forces on you and hunt you like a beast'

" Aww… Come on Naruto. They are really harmless. Come on, try and touch them," Jiraiya coaxed the small child hiding behind the fifth Hokage. The now four year old Naruto peaked shyly out from behind Tsunade and looked at Jiraiya with a frightened look. One frog jumped up and lunged towards Naruto scaring him. He "eep" and buried his head in Tsunade's robes. Tsunade gave Naruto a sympathetic look and before glaring some more at Jiraiya; Jiraiya sighed and un-summoned the frogs. 

"Mou, kid you are weak to be afraid of frogs," Jiraiya mumbled to himself, unfortunately, Tsunade heard him and gave him a hard punch in the head. 

"It's your fault anyway, Jiraiya. If you had thought of a better present, Naruto wouldn't be afraid of Frogs!"

                "Hai, hai."

"It's okay Naruto-chan, they're gone now," Tsunade told the child. Blue eyes and whiskered cheeks peaked out from behind her. Satisfied to see no frogs, Naruto step out from behind the woman and look at Jiraiya with sorry eyes. 

"Gomen ne, Jiraiya-ji-san. I'll try to be stronger." Yup, he heard the pervert sennin alright.

                Tsunade's glare returned full force, this time, enough to make Jiraiya squirm. Jiraiya sweat dropped and ruffled Naruto's hair. 

"Nah, Naruto. It's okay. It was my fault after all." Naruto had a uncertain look on his face, not sure to  believe Jiraiya's words. Jiraiya smiled as if to reassure the boy. Naruto broke out into a shy smile.

The ANBU soldier that was stationed outside the door, knocked softly to get the Hokage and two other occupants' attention. 

"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Sasuke is here." Naruto's face lit up like a firefly when he heard his brother's name. Tsunade smiled at the happy expression on her young friend's face. 

"Let him enter."

                Naruto didn't mind having Jiraiya and Tsunade for his company, but he preferred to be with his brother all the time; thus, when the six-year-old Sasuke entered, Naruto latched onto his big brother giving him a hug. 

"Konnichiwa Onii-chan!" Sasuke was push back a little bit by the small force that hit him, but managed to steady himself and hug his brother back. 

"Konnichiwa Naru-chan. Ready to go home?" Sasuke ask, looking at Naruto's beautiful eyes. Naruto nodded and ran to a corner to get his bag as Sasuke greets the two adults. "Arigatou Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sennin for taking care of Naruto today."

"Betsuni Sasuke-kun, bring him over anytime. He's always a good company," Tsunade told Sasuke with a smile. 

"Yeah. I like teaching him new stuff," Jiraiya's rough voice added in.

"I'm ready, Onii-chan. Bye-bye Jiraiya-oji-san, Tsunade-hime. Thank you for taking care of me today," Naruto told them shyly. The two nodded and said their good byes as the two children left.

"Sa, who would have thought that Naruto would be so shy. Itachi was never shy when he was a child. And Sasuke is quiet but never shy," Jiraiya commented. Tsunade just smiled, but her eyes were sad, looking at where Naruto used to stand. 

'_I hope that Naruto would last. Kami-sama, please make the villagers understand. Don't let them destroy such an innocent child._'

~~~~

"Did you have a good time, Naru-chan?" Sasuke asked Naruto as they walk home hand in hand. 

"Um! Um! Tsunade-hime showed me this storybook about how Konoha became Konoha. There were a lot of pictures and stuff. But she wasn't able to finish the story because she had to attend a meeting. Demo, demo, Tsunade-hime promised me that next time, she would finished the story."

 "So, what did you do while Hokage-sama was at the meeting? You didn't destroy anything did you?" Sasuke continued to ask, a grin on his face. Naruto pouted. 

"Mou, Onii-chan! Of course I didn't." Sasuke just laughed. "Jiraiya-oji-san showed me a neat trick though. He taught me Bunshin no Jutsu, but I can't do it. Jiraiya-oji-san said that I'm too young and I can't control my chakra yet. Then he went into a long and boring…"

                Sasuke wasn't listening to Naruto's story anymore when they enter the market place. Sometimes, Sasuke wished that they didn't have to take this route when going home. He flinched as he started to hear the adults talk, not even trying to keep their voices down.

                "_Look, there's that demon child. Poor Itachi-san and Sasuke-kun, having that kid of burden in their house hold." _

_"Yeah, they should have killed him instead." _

_ "They must be frightened at night knowing that such a demon lives at their house." _

_                "Poor, poor-" _

_ "Urusai!"_ Sasuke screamed in his mind. He wanted to shout at them, to leave Naruto alone, but in doing that, Naruto would notice the stares and the whispers. He knew that oblivious Naruto didn't notice the looks of hatred the adults sent him, he was too caught up in retelling his day to his brother. Even if he notices, Sasuke doubted Naruto would be able to guess that they are referring to him. Sasuke couldn't risk letting Naruto know what was happening.

                 Deep inside, Sasuke knew it wouldn't be long before he finally did and being the shy child that he was, he was bound to grow uncomfortable. Sasuke knew that Naruto wondered why he was never allowed to go out of the house alone, without company. He knew Naruto wondered why he wasn't studying to be a ninja like some of the children his age. Sasuke knew (change to knew) that Naruto wondered a lot, but didn't try to ask them because he knew they wouldn't answer the question. He knew because he used to ask the same question as well, until he finally got the answer.  

But…sometimes, he wished that he didn't know.

_Four months ago: _

_ "Otou-san," Sasuke called Itachi as he entered the room. Itachi smiled down at him and motioned for him to sit down on the bed. _

_"What is it, Sasuke? Is something bothering you again?"_

_ "Otou-san, why didn't you enroll Naru-chan in the academy? He is the right age now," Sasuke asked. Itachi's smile went away and he looked down on the floor. _

_"Come here Sasuke. I think it's time to tell you," Itachi softly told Sasuke. Sasuke went to his father's embrace, his heart beating wildly. He would finally know the big secret!_

_"As you know, Naruto is very special. Before he was born, even before you were born, there was a demon, the Kyubi. It raged all over Konoha and almost destroyed this village. The Kyubi was responsible for our clan's death, me being the last survivor. The Yondaime was only able to seal it inside a cave because the Kyubi was too strong to be killed. But then it cannot be sealed inside the cave forever. Two years after you were born, the seal was slowly weakening; the Kyubi was getting his strength back. _

_                Your mother was also the last survivor of her clan. Her clan was the one who were the overseer of the Kyubi. They were the sacrifice for the Kyubi._

_                I didn't approve of it at first. I refused to let Ayume be the sacrifice, but The fourth told me that Ayume wasn't going to be the sacrifice. He said that he only needed a body to seal the Kyubi in. And the choice was unanimous. They choose Naruto because the day he was going to come was the same day the seal would be broken. I couldn't let the village down. The Kyubi killed a lot of people once; I didn't want that to happen again. So I agreed. _

_ After Naruto was born, the fourth Hokage died since he had to use his life force to make sure that the Kyubi won't take over Naruto's body. After awhile, I found out that the Kyubi affected your mother. Ayume already knew, but she didn't want to let me know. She told Yondaime not to tell me, she begged him not to. So she died. The villager's adult knows about the demon that lives inside Naruto. They hate Naruto for it. I don't want Naruto to know because he might blame himself, thinking that it was his fault that Ayume and the Yondaime died." _

_ Itachi started crying softly, feeling the pain of losing his wife and as well as sadness for his son, knowing that he would never live a normal life._

_End of Flashback._

_ "It's not his fault! It's not Naru-chan's fault that the Kyubi was sealed inside him!"_ Sasuke wanted to scream out loud. He hated the villagers! They were so close-minded. Sasuke knewthat their attitude would soon transfer to their children. Even though the Fifth Hokage already forbade everyone who knew to spread it, it still didn't stop the children from following their parent's example.

                Sasuke's hold on the boy tightens; Naruto didn't seem to notice as he continued on telling his big brother what a wonderful day he had.

 End of Chapter One.

Author's Note: Ne, ne, ne, what do you guys think? I know that Naruto isn't shy, but I think that that would be his attitude if he did have a family to love him. He won't need to get attention because he already has it.  I know that it is pretty weird. Oh well, please review everyone. I won't mind Flames…I guess… ^. ^;


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Note: Thank you every one for reviewing. I apologize for the bad grammar and spelling. It has been awhile since I wrote anything. Then again, I was never good in the first place. Anyway, I was really excited yesterday, so I didn't bother to double or triple check the chapter. Sorry about that. I'm glad that you guys like it. So, without further distractions, here's chapter two.

Usual Disclaimer.

Title: Precious

Chapter Two

Edited by: Black Fox

_Uchiha Residence:_

" What's the matter, Itachi? The mission wasn't that hard," Kakashi questioned his friend, not even bothering to put down the book he was holding. 

"Kakashi, if you want me to answer your question, put the damn book down first," Itachi almost growled the words out. Surprised, Kakashi obeyed, raising the only visible eyebrow. 

'_Something must really be stressing Itachi. He never took it into offense when I read and spoke to him at the same time,' _Kakashi mused to himself.  

"Itachi-kun, what's the matter? You seem very upset," Iruka spoke in, he too noticed the odd behavior of the Sharingan user. Itachi paused for awhile, looking as if he didn't want to share his burden with his teammate. 

" It's… it's Naruto."

"What about Naruto-chan?" Iruka was quick to question, afraid that the boy was in some sort of trouble. "He's not in trouble Iruka," Itachi replied to calm the man down. 

"_Well, not today anyway_." Kakashi's eyes told him softly. 

"It's just that, Naruto's the right age to go to the academy. But I can't help feeling that sending him there would be a big mistake," the Uchiha finally let out, rubbing his temples to ease his growing headache. Iruka sympathetically looked at Itachi, knowing the man was thinking about the issue for months.

"Itachi, I know what you are trying to say. But you can't keep the boy in this house forever. Soon, Sasuke will be going on missions, and you know that Jiraiya is a wanderer and he will be wandering again. The two of us are busy being ANBU soldiers and I know that you are not far of from being an ANBU captain. Iruka-koi nor the Hokage can't always baby sit Naruto. Who will be then left, to protect the boy?" Kakashi reasoned out to Itachi. He knew he was pushing Itachi to his limits, having the same conversation countless times before, but Itachi had to come to his senses.

"I know Kakashi. But think about it. If I allow him to study there, kids will glare at him and hate him like their parents do. He doesn't even know why," Itachi told him in a controlled voice. 

"Naruto-chan is not that soft. He is strong. And he can be stronger Itachi-kun. Yes he is quite young now and too naïve to understand why he's receiving those kind of treatments, but I know he can pull through. I believe he can," Iruka told Itachi softly, trying his best to comfort the distressed man. 

" I don't know Iruka, Kakashi. His spirit… he has a gentle spirit, just like…just like Ayume had. Sasuke's support and Naruto's spirit are the only things keeping me sane. I can't afford to lose Naruto's gentle spirit. The people…the villagers can break his spirit. I know that they are capable of that. And Sasuke… you two have seen him. He's very protective of Naruto. If I make wrong decisions that could harm Naruto, he'll lose his faith in me…" Itachi spoke desperately.

Kakashi folded his hands in front of him and bent forward to softly talk to Itachi. 

"You won't do that. You are their Father. Come on Itachi. You're always the one who never loses his cool. You're always thinking up crazy, stupid ideas but in the end they save our necks. Where's that never ending confidence of yours, the one that seems to never fail at irritate me? The confidence you used to have that pushed Ayume into your arms? The confidence you used to have that pushed me into finally giving in to look for my own happiness?" Kakashi took hold of Iruka's hand and gave it a squeeze, staring into Itachi's eyes deeply, as if willingly him to snap out of his trance and get back on his proud feet. 

Itachi looked into Kakashi's eyes as the words sank in and slowly processed into his brain. He could feel the confidence practically oozing out of their beings. Sitting up straight, Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his heart down. He slowly opened his eyes and his mouth gradually moved, forming a weak grin. Weak, but nevertheless, it is (no 'it is')  a grin.

" It's right in front of you," Itachi answered proudly. 

Iruka finally let the breath he didn't even notice he was holding and let out a smile. Kakashi let go of Iruka's hand and sat back. 

"Glad to have you back, Itachi. Though I know that in the near future, probably when we are in a mission, I'll regret getting back your irritating self, but I'm glad to have you back." Itachi smiled at Kakashi, knowing that he really didn't mean that. 

The copycat ninja may have always look cool and composed with that mask, but Itachi knew he really didn't get easily irritated with a lot of things. That was one of the reasons Itachi never believed the guy when he said Itachi could irritate even the dead. 

"You want us to be gone with or stay for dinner?" Kakashi questioned the man. 

"I'll appreciate it if you guys stay. I think I need the company. Naruto's energetic self might exhaust me too much," Itachi answered, knowing his two children would be back by now.

" Tadaima!"

" Tadaima."

Speaking of the devils…

" Okairi," the three man greeted back simultaneously, standing up to welcome the two boys. Not soon after, Naruto's golden-yellow hair came into view and slammed into his father's body, sending the two down. 

" Otou-san, you're finally home!" Naruto greeted loudly, smiling so broadly that one would think that his face would break. 

"I'm sorry for taking so long, Naruto," Itachi greeted him back, ruffling Naruto's hair. "Now get off of me and greet your two uncles."

Naruto stood and turn to face Kakashi and Iruka, shyly greeting them. " Konnichiwa Kakashi-oji-san, Iruka-oji-san." 

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Iruka looked amused. It never failed to amaze anyone on how Naruto was an energize bunny one minute then a shy rabbit in another. The boy was always shy and quiet around other peoples other than his father and big brother. Which made Kakashi wonder one more thing.

" W_here did he get that shyness from? Ayume was quiet, like Sasuke. and Itachi, *snorts* he's far from shy_." Kakashi's eyes met Itachi's and he grinned slowly. Itachi knew what Kakashi was thinking. Years of being companions enabled the two to have silent conversations without even talking out loud. Then again, maybe they were just very similar to each other. In any case, Itachi knew what Kakashi was thinking about and gave him a look that said.

"He is my son. Get that through your thick head. I _was_ shy as a child; just grew out of it." Kakashi answered with a loud snort as if to say, "Yeah right. Lying is bad for ones health."

" Itachi-kun, since you are allowing us to stay for dinner, I'll make dinner," Iruka offered. Itachi was about to decline, but he (No 'he') felt a sudden tiredness in his body so (no 'so') he agreed in the end. 

" Ne, ne, Iruka-oji-san, may I help? I'm really a good helper," Naruto shyly asked the Chuunin, not daring to look in his eyes for some reason. Iruka smiled at the boy and looked to Itachi for his approval. Itachi nodded quickly, knowing that Naruto might take it the wrong way if he refuses. 

"Sure, why not," Iruka answer. Naruto raised his head and smiled broadly, following the older man into the kitchen after leaving his bag in a corner.

The two remaining grown-ups finally noticed an angry looking Sasuke. The two look at each other for awhile and then back at Sasuke. 

" Sasuke, what's wrong?" Itachi asked the small black-eyed boy. 

" The villagers. I hate them," Sasuke answered, voice thick with angry emotions. 

Not letting the adults ask more questions, Sasuke continued to speaking. " They blame Naru-chan for a  crime that he didn't commit. They are so stupid. Such idiotic fools. Can't they see that Naru-chan isn't the demon that they blame to be? Why can't they just open their eyes? Otou-san, why can't they just realize that Naru-chan is just an innocent, harmless child?!" Sasuke stomped his foot angrily  and turned to look into his father eyes, full of anger.   

Itachi was taken aback by the intensity of Sasuke's anger. He'd never seen Sasuke like this before.

                Kakashi placed a comforting hand on Itachi's shoulder, enough to break him out of his shock and answer his waiting son. 

"Sasuke, I know how you feel. Though I'm not sure how to answer you questions, I do know one thing. The villagers, all of us, suffered a great deal because of the Kyubi. We lost love ones and precious people. I already accepted my lost, so does Kakashi, Iruka, Jiraiya, Tsunade and some others that you haven't met. But others… they can't move on, because they don't know how. I know that that doesn't make you feel better. But as long as they see Naruto as the Kyubi and not as the sweet, innocent child that we know, there's really nothing we can do. Only Naruto can change them, by showing them that he is not the demon that they perceive him to be."

Sasuke couldn't accept it and resorted to glaring at his father. Sasuke knew what Itachi was saying was true but his mind couldn't seem to accept it. 

"Sasuke, you're still young. You'll understand it when you grow older and have your very own precious person," Kakashi commented, ruffling his hair. Sasuke turned to Kakashi then looked down at the floor, taking a deep breath to calm his angry nerves. 

"I understand that, Otou-san, Kakashi-san, but that doesn't mean I'll accept that." 

"I know," Itachi said.

The two adults and Sasuke sat down, talking about aimless things to pass the time. 

A few minutes later…

*sound of a knife falling on the floor*

"Naruto!"

Iruka's loud cry alarmed the two men and boy. They ran towards the kitchen, thinking of the worst possible scenario only to find out that…

"It hurts, Otou-san, Onii-chan," Naruto painfully said, his left hand wiping his tears away and his right hand in front, showing his finger. Itachi and Kakashi almost fell on the floor, while Sasuke just looked at Naruto strangely, walking towards him. 

"Iruka-koi! I thought that something happened from the way you shouted," Kakashi growled out. Iruka blushed, embarrassed. 

"Sorry Kakashi-kun, I was just surprised. The knife could have cut his hands off."

"Baka. It's just a small cut, Naru-chan," Sasuke told the younger boy, cleaning the blood and wrapping a band-aid on the cut finger and wiping away his tears. 

"Baka ja nai yo. It really hurts, Onii-chan," Naruto whimpered. Sasuke smiled and gently kissed Naruto's finger. 

"There, all better?" Sasuke ask him.

To the untrained and unobservant eyes, like Iruka, Naruto and Sasuke, the finger still looked as if it was still wounded. But Kakashi and Itachi didn't miss the light mist that flowed out of the wound and knowing the Kyubi's power was already healing the wound. 

"Hai, Onii-chan," Naruto softly smiled at his brother sending Sasuke's heart into a little jump seeing his baby brother seemed  to be feeling all better because of him.  Onii-chan's kisses always make me feel better!" Sasuke felt his cheeks grow warm and instantly looked away, Naruto watched him curiously. 

" Naruto," Itachi called out, "are you still up to helping Iruka make dinner?" Naruto slowly nodded, pleading silently to his father that he will be careful. "Alright Naruto. But please be careful. I don't want you to grow up with a missing finger, okay?"

"Hai , Otou-san," came Naruto's happy response.

"I'll help too Iruka-san. We might be eating dinner with blood as an extra ingredient," Sasuke said, grinning at his brother. 

"Mou, Onii-chan!" Naruto said, pouting. Sasuke laughed and poked the younger boy on little nose, the adults laughed. Kakashi and Itachi went back to the living room to leave the three to the cooking. 

" Itachi, you have that annoying 'I have a plan, a very crazy plan to be exact' look again," Kakashi commented as he sat down, taking out the "Icha, Icha Paradise" book and began to read, well at least Itachi thought he was reading. No matter how long he was with the Shinobi, he never could tell if the man was reading or just grating him.

                "Ah, you got me again, old friend," Itachi retorted, smiling.

~~~~~~~

_Next day:_

Itachi sleepily walk towards the Kitchen where he could smell delicious food, a bundle of energy bumped into him along the way. With his quick reflexes and speed, Itachi managed to catch his son along with the tray of toasted bread with eggs and strong black coffee.

" Naruto! You're up early." Itachi looked down at Naruto who was half smiling, half grinning. 

"Anousa,Anousa,Kakashi-oji-santoldmethatyoudon'thaveanymissionbecausetodayisyoufirst dayoffsincetwoyearsandIthoughtthatIcanspenditwithyouandmakeyoubreakfast.Butdon'tworrythoughbecauseOnii-chanhelpedmewithit (Anou sa, Anou sa, Kakashi-oji-san told me that you don't have any mission because today is you first day off since two years and I thought that I can spend it with you and make you breakfast. But don't worry though because Onii-chan helped me with it.)," Naruto said in a blur , Itachi had a very hard time understanding it. 

After finally decoding what Naruto had said and encoding it into his brain, Itachi smiled at Naruto, touched by his effort. 

"Alright. We'll spend the day together." Naruto gave him another heartwarming smile making Itachi's heart warm. Sitting down on the sofa, Itachi lay the tray down and picked Naruto up letting him sit on his lap. "But, before I eat your delicious breakfast, Naruto, I have to ask you something," Itachi started to say looking into Naruto's expectant eyes. "How would you feel to have Jiraiya-sennin and Hokage-sama taught you the Code of the Ninja and other techniques to make you strong?"

" They are going to be my sensei?!" Naruto excitedly asks. 

"That's one way of putting it, so yes," Itachi answered, happy at his son's positive reaction. 

"Daisuki, Otou-san!" Naruto answered back with glee, hugging his father. 

"Now then Naruto, I'll ask them tomorrow, then we'll know their answer, okay?"

" Um! Um!"

*knock! Knock!*

Itachi quickly but gently put Naruto on the couch, and ran  towards the door. When he opened it, a bloody and injured Shinobi greeted him. Itachi recognize him as the gate guard, although he didn't know his name. 

"What happened?!" 

" Intruders…three foreign jounins…assassinate Hokage-sama" the Shinobi croaked out. Feeling alarmed, Itachi carried the injured man in his arms and looked the scared Naruto in the eye. 

"Naruto, I want you to stay here in this house. Lock the doors and don't let anyone come in. _No one at all_. Sasuke has keys so he can open the door. Understand?"

Naruto nodded his head quickly, his father disappearing in a flash heading towards the Tower (what do you call the one where they visit the Hokage?).  

~~~~~

_Tower:_

" Hokage-sama! Three jounins, foreigners, are inside Konoha village. Judging from this survivor, all the other guards are dead. He said that they came to assassinate you," Itachi quickly said. Tsunade took one look at the injured man and got into action. 

"Get a medic here, right now!"

" Hokage-sama, you can't leave this room. We don't know where the intruders are," the ANBU soldier stationed outside the door yelled to the Fifth Hokage. 

"Then I'll do it here. Quickly, this man is about to die!" 

" You, call all available Jounin and Jiraiya-sennin to have them search for the intruders. Call three forces of ANBU here and guard the Hokage," Itachi ordered the other ANBU soldier.

~~~~

" Naruto-chan! Open the door!" a voice sounding like Itachi shouted out, banging on the door. Naruto fell down on the floor slightly startled. 

"Nandeste? Who are you?" Naruto called out nervously after recovering from the fall. 

" I'm your Father! Naruto-chan, open the door!" 

" You're not Otou-san! Otou-san never calls me Naruto-chan!" Fear started to seep into Naruto's mind. 

" Who cares about that?! Just open the door! I forgot my keys! Hurry up Naruto, the Hokage is in grave danger!"

"_Forgot his keys? Otou-san never forgot his keys,_" Naruto thought to himself. 

"Liar! Otou-san wears the key around his neck! He never takes it off!"

The pounding stopped, everything went quiet. Biting his lip, Naruto slowly walked towards the door… 

**BANG! **

The front door flung open whipping towards Naruto, who evaded it in the nick of the time, the door crashed through a window, shattering into pieces, some cutting (and slicing?) Naruto's (small) body. In the door (way) stood a huge (ominous) shadow, its perimeter blocking Naruto's only way out.

"You know your Father well, boy." The man sneered darkly walking towards Naruto. 

"Wh-wh-who are you?" Naruto asked, walking backwards, eyes full of fear, wincing as pain shot through his body, the cuts burning like fire 

"_Onii-chan, tasukete!"_

" Your worst nightmare. Just call me Natsu-sama."

"_Onii-chan!_"

~~~~

_Sasuke's classroom:_

"Tsugi! Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke's teacher called out. " Show me how much you improve, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke nodded his head and took out three shurikens. All the girls started screaming and squealing, saying things like how cool Sasuke look. Sasuke ignored them and started concentrating on cutting the three apples in half. 

"_Onii-chan, tasukete!"_

*THU-THUB! THU-THUB!*

Sasuke clutch his heart, letting his shurikens fall to the floor. 

_"My heart…it hurts… what's happening? Did something happen to…"_

_"Onii-chan!"_

"NARUTO!"

End of Chapter Two.        

Author's Note: Hope you guys like this chapter. I have a question, how many series does Naruto have? I keep on buying only to find out that it is still not the end. Oh and would you guys want Orochimaru (is the spelling right) to come out early or should I reserve him for later? Anywaz, please review.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                


	3. Chapter Three

Author's Note: Here's Chapter Three. I'm sorry if I took so long to post. Anyways, comments, suggestions, and complaints are allowed. Please review and enjoy.

Disclaimer. But I do own Ayume, Zaku, Natsu and Akuya.

Title: Precious

Chapter Three

Edited by: Black Fox

"NARUTO!"

"Uchiha-san, what is the matter?" Sasuke's teacher asked, approaching the boy to make sure he hadn't gone mad yet. 

"I… I… have to go! Naru-chan needs me!" Sasuke exclaimed to himself forgetting he was in a class full of people. Not bothering to apologize for disrupting the class or even excusing himself, Sasuke opened the wooden door with such a force that it was enough to break it apart.

He ran down the hall like his clothes were on fire, bumping into people without care; some even flying towards walls with such force from Sasuke's speed. He passed the staff's room; the doors had been left open, leaving teachers inside the room to see only a blue blur passing.

"Iruka-koi, that's Sasuke," Kakashi in a deadpan voice, pointing in the direction where the blur had past. 

Iruka looked at his lover with bewilderment, not quite understanding what Kakashi had said. Kakashi stood up, his eyes (or eye) turning serious. "I felt Sasuke's chakra passing us. It was going haywire, like he was worried or angry. Something must be wrong."

"What do you mean?" Iruka inquired, standing up as well, alarmed by his lover's words. 

"I don't know, but I'm intent on finding out," Kakashi answered, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

'I_ hope that nothing serious happened_,' Iruka prayed silently to himself.

~~~~~

"_Naruto! Something happened to him!"_ Sasuke screamed in his mind, one hand clutching at his frantically beating heart, while the other was pushing people out of his way. 

After running the long distance to his home, Sasuke finally arrived at the main house of the Uchiha clan. He skidded to a halt, staring at the entrance with growing horror instead of covering the doorway; a large gapping was spaced in the middle of the archway.

"_What happened?!_" Sasuke spoke fearfully in his mind. He hesitated, walking closer, noticing the tare-like markings of what was left of the door. 

"Someone must have kicked the door in or body-slammed it."

"Kakashi-san!" Sasuke exclaimed in a shocked manner, whirling around to face the serious looking ANBU soldier. Sasuke again clutched his heart, but for a whole different reason. He took two long, deep breaths to calm himself, not wanting to show Kakashi just how much his sudden appearance frightened him. Whether Kakashi noticed or not, he didn't show it. Instead, the masked Shinobi ignored the boy and walked closer to the door cautiously.

He knelt down and brushed his fingers against the destroyed door frame looking like some scientist scrutinizing over a specimen. "It was definitely kicked opened. And judging from this, whoever did this must have put a lot of force into it. This whole house was made from strong materials. Not just anybody can kick it open," Kakashi muttered to himself, but Sasuke could hear him anyway.

Sasuke wanted to scream, yell or even curse the man. 

"THIS_ IS NO TIME TO BE EXAMINING THOSE KINDS OF THINGS! NARU-CHAN IS IN TROUBLE! I CAN PRACTICALLY FEEL IT IN MY VEINS!_" 

But he knew rushing into things wouldn't help. After all, they didn't even know what they are up against.

Sasuke instead settled for approaching the man and telling him his reasons for rushing out of class and into the Uchiha clan's main house. 

"Something happened to Naru-chan. I don't know how, but I can feel it in my heart. He's in pain right now." Sasuke's voice was controlled, but no matter what he did, he couldn't keep some tone of worry from coming out. Kakashi could practically feel Sasuke's worry and desperation radiating out of the boy.

"_I figured as much. Nothing could make Sasuke like this other than Naruto,_" Kakashi mused to himself. But despite that, he himself was worried. Walking soundlessly inside, Kakashi indicated for Sasuke to stay behind him. He didn't felt any chakra from inside, but considering that he had no idea what they are dealing with, Kakashi couldn't take any chances. 

They noticed one with out of place, it is dark. Too dark.

"The curtains have been drawn close," Kakashi whispered to himself. In all the time that Kakashi knew Itachi, the curtains were never close. He didn't know why, but Itachi kept it that way. Since he never questioned him on how he styled his own apartment, Kakashi gave him the same treatment. 

 Kakashi asked Itachi once as to what was the exact purpose of the curtains just hanging and rotting away. The Uchiha's answer was short and, personally for Kakashi, stupid. 

"It looks good that way." 

Kakashi snorted. Itachi would wear a tube top, mini skirt, and panty hose if he thought it would look good on him. Never mind the fact that it would be really weird on him and Kakashi would just have barfed if he even thought of doing such a thing.

It took quite a while for Kakashi's eyes to adjust from the sudden darkness and even more for Sasuke. When it finally did, Kakashi instantly notice the broken glass on the floor and then- was that blood? Sniffing the air, Kakashi confirmed it. Giving a side-ways glance towards Sasuke, he quickly debated whether or not Sasuke would take it well if he said there was blood on the floor... and on the couch… oh, and on the lamp on the far left of the couch.

"Sasuke, I want you to keep calm. Don't assume much, but there is blood here," Kakashi calmly told the boy, deciding to tell him. Sasuke's eyes widened, looking up to the ninja's calm eyes.

"Is it… is it Naru-chan's?" Sasuke asks, his voice quivering with fear. Fear for Naruto or fear of the intruder, Kakashi couldn't tell.

He didn't answer quickly but finding the switch to turn the lights on. Kakashi surveyed the scene, causing Sasuke to squirm with anxiety. Kakashi took note of every detail in the disaster. He figured that whoever kicked the door opened had sent it flying into the window, which explained the shattered glass. Droplets of blood stained the floor near the shards of glass. Someone had been standing near the entrance way and was hit by the shards.

Two handprints near the small droplets of blood and from the bloody hand prints trailed towards the couch, a smeared marking slid down the side proving that the injured person had fallen unconscious on the floor. Judging from the bloody markings, Kakashi could safely say that all the blood came from Naruto. The hand prints were small, too small for an adult. "_Unless it was a midget we're dealing with_," Kakashi told himself amused, anything to distract himself from the feelings in his chest. Dread. Extreme worry. _Fear._

But it was no use.

"Sasuke, Naruto has been kidnapped."

~~~~~

"This man needs an operation," Tsunade grimly told Itachi, hinting on something. 

"I can understand what you're feeling Hokage-sama, but you can not leave this room. We have no idea what we're dealing with," Itachi told her, feeling tired suddenly. Today was supposed to be his day off. He was supposed to be with his youngest son, playing, laughing, and generally spending some time with him.

Itachi's thoughts turned to Naruto. Was he was okay, or was he scared right now? He may even be angry at him for going on a mission when it was his day off, though, technically, he wasn't on a mission, but you get my point.

  A puff of smoke interrupted Itachi's line of thought; around fifteen ANBUs surrounded the Fifth Hokage and the injured man. All were posted at a guard position, some holding their kunai out, ready to throw.

"Wait, it's just me. I have urgent news," Kakashi's voice broke the heavy silence. Itachi raised his right arm in the air signaling the ANBUs to step down and that it is all right, only a few obeyed the others stayed still in position ready to pounce incase the Kakashi before them was a fake.

"Kakashi, what news do you bring us?" Itachi demanded more than asked. He knew that chakra any where and no one, no matter how good they were, could fool Itachi. Itachi suddenly felt a weak chakra pulse beside Kakashi. 

"Sasuke?"

"Naruto has been kidnapped," Kakashi informed them, his voice dead serious.

"NANI!" Tsunade exclaimed, standing up and pushing the others aside to come closer to Kakashi. "Are you sure?" Tsunade questioned him, her eyes begging him to say that he is only playing a prank on them. 

"Yes, I am very sure." 

Then again, when did Kakashi played such a cruel prank on them?

"I followed Sasuke back to your house, Itachi. He told me that he can feel Naruto and that he is in extreme pain. I just examined the house. The door was kick opened; shattering the glass from a window and Naruto seemed to be standing near, injuring him. There was blood all over the place. I really can't tell what happened, but I'm pretty sure that Naruto is alive."

Itachi stared wide-eyed at Kakashi as he explained what he saw. 

Naruto? Kidnapped? That doesn't make sense. Why would anyone want to kidnap him? The villagers wouldn't dare do such a sickening thing in broad daylight. Also, there was that thing with the door; not just anyone could kick the door open with such strong force, even enough to send it hurling towards the windows. It would take a man more than brute strength to do such a thing. Unless-

Itachi never finished the thought, as again a puff of smoke disrupted him. This time, the intruder didn't wait to speak up like Kakashi did. 

"I have bad news. The one you are trying to heal is a fake," Jiraiya grimly said, walking towards the group. "What? That can't be," Tsunade countered her friend. 

"I went back to check if all the gate guards were really dead. One body was farther away from the rest so I went to check if he might be alive. He had no face. That man stole his face, the one he is impersonating right now," Jiraiya threw back at Tsunade, not happy that she didn't believe him. The exact moment Jiraiya said that, the mass of body started to shake as if he was convulsing, only to hear small, painful chuckles coming out of the man.

"Me? Be capable of doing such thing? Don't make me laugh," the man told them his voice coarse. "After all, I'm just a sacrifice."

"Who are you?" Itachi growled out, finally getting irritated with all the things that have been happening. 

"As I have already told you, I'm a sacrifice, nobody of importance," the man answered, his mouth twisting into a sadistic smile. 

"Who are you?" Itachi hissed again, slowly losing control over his anger. 

"Shouldn't you be worrying more about your son? If none of you do anything, you'll lose him. Then again, you must be glad, finally getting rid of the demon from your household. After all, the boy cannot be trusted with a demon with such a great power living inside him. Oh yes, such a gre-."

*SLAP*

" Hokage-sama/ Tsunade!" everyone turn to look at the Fifth Hokage- who walked in two quick steps and just slapped the man across the face- surprised from her course of action. The slap left an angry red mark on the imposter's face. 

"Urusai! Don't you dare speak about things you don't know! Don't you dare judge him as if he is some item to be sold off at a market!" Tsunade yelled at the man, not even bothering to conceal her anger. "He is only a child! Just because he carries a demon inside him, doesn't make him one as well! Don't you ever say that again!"

Tsunade whirled around, seething with anger. Jiraiya put a comfortable hand to her shoulder, effectively making Tsunade breath calmly, but her anger is still there.

"Take this man away! I don't care if you put him inside a cell or a torture chamber. Just make sure that he is still alive for questioning," Tsunade barked orders to the ANBU. "The rest of you, go join the other Jounins in the search. I don't care how long it takes; I want you to find those intruders, alive! Bring Naruto back here unscratched, unharmed or I'll be having your heads. Now MOVE!"

Everyone moved, feeling the intense anger of the Hokage radiating like a hot sun. "Itachi, Kakashi, Sasuke and Jiraiya, stay here," Tsunade told the trio and Sasuke in a gentler manner, as gentle as she can be from the anger she is feeling.

"_How dare him! How dare he say such things! He doesn't know anything! Naruto isn't a demon. He's a hero to be carrying that demon inside his body! "_ Tsunade's mind was spinning away with mad thoughts; she didn't notice the looks she was receiving from the others. 

"Hokage-sama, what is it you want with us?" Kakashi asks, feeling edgy from all the tension in the air.

Tsunade snapped from her angry musing and turned to face the men and child. 

"It is obvious that those three unidentified Jounins were after Naruto. Kakashi, tell us what happened inside the house."

"As I have said before, the broken glass must have injured Naruto. But that is not all. I'm also guessing that he was slashed either near the chest or somewhere in his lower regions, because I saw a trail of blood on the lamp on the far left side from the couch. I can't tell much about what really happened based on a trail of blood, Naruto has a small body, but I'm pretty sure it was from a sword or dagger that did it. Naruto was mostly unconscious when he was kidnapped."

"Could anyone of you tell me a reason as to why they would kidnap Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, bewildered. 

"Taking a guess, it must have something to do with the Kyubi," Itachi quietly answered, turning his gaze downwards.

Silence fell inside the room; nobody knew what to say or do. Sasuke watched the adults, impatiently waiting for them to do something. He clutched his chest tightly, grinding his teeth together. The pain disappeared awhile ago, but Sasuke could still feel the intense pain coursing throughout his body. He didn't even want to think of what happened to Naruto now that the pain is gone. 

"_He could be dead…… YADA YO! Sasuke, don't think like that. Kakashi-san already said that if they wanted to kill him, they could have done that a long time ago_," Sasuke berated himself, inwardly shaking his head.

"_But what if he is wrong?_" a small voice hiss. 

Images flashed in his mind, each one more horrifying than the last. His little brother lying still on the ground, blood pooling the floor and dripping from the walls, his once soulful blue eyes dull and lifeless, is staring at Sasuke.

Sasuke shook violently, falling to his knees as he tried to push the images away. The adults took notice of Sasuke, Itachi rushing towards him fearing for Sasuke's sanity. 

"Sasuke! Sasuke! Get a hold of yourself!" Itachi yelled at him, shaking him to snap Sasuke out of his trance.

Sasuke turned to look at his father, his face pale and sweaty, eyes full of fear and anxiety. 

"Otou-san, I saw… I saw Naru-chan… he was lying there, a pool of blood surrounding him… so much blood… he could be dead Otou-san! We have to find him now! We can't loss anymore time!"

"Sasuke, Naruto is not dead," Itachi calmly told Sasuke, looking squarely into his eyes. "We will find him. Alive. Do you understand me?"

Sasuke didn't answer for a while before he slowly nodded his head, calming his nerves down. 

"Arigatou Otou-" Sasuke's sentence was cut off, his young body falling limply towards Itachi. 

"Gomen, Sasuke. I know that you would want to come, but you can't. It's too dangerous." Itachi softly whispered to the unconscious boy. Lifting him up, he placed Sasuke in a corner, making his position as comfortable as possible.

"Itachi, was that really necessary?" Jiraiya asked the man. 

"Yes. I know Sasuke. He's as stubborn as me and will do anything to come with us. When Naruto was only a baby, I would constantly hear him say that he would protect Naruto from all harm. This must be killing Sasuke inside and he could break down any time. One of my sons is already in danger; I don't want another one to join the huddle. Hokage-sama, please make sure that Sasuke doesn't go after us. I knock him out pretty hard, but he could wake at any time."

"I'll take care of him, Itachi. Now go and join the others," Tsunade agreed, waving them away with her hand. Kakashi and Jiraiya disappeared from view instantly.

"Itachi," Tsunade called out. Itachi paused for a while and waiting for Tsunade to continue. "Bring him back, back where he belongs." 

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

~~~~

"Che! That kid wasn't even a challenge. What could the boss want with a weakling such as him," Natsu spat out, glaring at the white-haired person beside him, as if blaming him for ruining his fun. The white-haired man, Zaku, gave him a glare as well, irritated with having to work with a dumb-ass like him in the joined mission. 

"Bakeru. It's not the boy he wants; it's what's inside of the boy. The demon fox, Kyubi."

"You believe that junk? Come on! A boy like him couldn't possibly contain a wild spirit such as the Demon Fox," Natsu snorted out, sneering at the man. Zaku gave him a weird look in return. "What? Is there something in my face?" 

"No. I'm just surprise that you can follow with what I'm saying. Considering that your brain size is even smaller than your fist," Zaku commented, turning his gaze away and resting it on a silent figure next to him. 

"You want my fist to wreck that lovely face of yours?" Natsu growled out, glaring more at his appointed leader. 

"Shut up, dumb ass. I don't have time for you. We have to move to phase three and break the boy apart, before the Konoha Shinobi finds us." Natsu smiled and starts to crack his cracked his knuckles, getting ready. 

"Now you're talking my kind of language. I don't exactly like bullying kids, but I have been itching to beat somebody up since we set out for this mission. Ouch! Hey!"

Zaku resisted the urged to slap his companion again. Closing the small distance that separates the two, Zaku deftly grabbed hold of Natsu's collar, dragging the man closer, face to face. It didn't matter that Natsu was three inches taller than Zaku or the fact that the big man could probably break his bones as if he were just breaking a toothpick; Zaku was pissed and if he was piss, It was best to not be around him. 

"Look here you idiotic monkey. You have been testing my patience since we left the institute. Not only did you delay us two days, you killed the Konoha guards when I _specifically_ told you to kill only _one!_ Now, not only are Jounins hunting our hides, but ANBUs as well, and probably that Frog-sennin the boss always talks about. It could have been just so easy. Kill one, steal face, make the sacrifice, lure Itachi out, and you, kidnapping the brat. But no! You just have to go and waste more time by playing dolly and injuring the kid, making a mess and giving them clues! To top it all off, you managed to forget the location of where we're suppose to hide! I don't even understand why the boss entrusted that kind of important information to you, let alone agreeing to have you come with us! And now we're stuck here, in an abandon cottage that is in plain sight! Plus!  It wasn't exactly a tea party to clean up your trace and the boy's blood that you carelessly left for the whole Konoha to follow! For all we know, they could already know our location!!!!"

Natsu couldn't do anything but just glare at the pale-haired man. He was smart enough to know when to mess with Zaku and when not to. This being the exact time to not mess with him; besides the fact that what all Zaku said was true.

"Now you listen to me you big oaf. If I hear one more idiotic sound coming from you, just one more, I'll give you pain, so much pain that you'll wish you never ever met me. Akuya here will be doing the breaking and he needs to put all of his energy and concentration into doing so. I want you to go outside and guard the door. If anyone, and I mean _anyone at all_, comes and starts to cause havoc, then you can start using your muscle and kill them; men, women, child, Shinobi, innocent or not, I don't care. We have to make sure that Akuya finishes his task completely and that no witnesses are alive. Can your small brain digest what I said?"         

Natsu just growled out his answer. Zaku let the large man leave, catching a thick pile of papers thrown to him by their third quiet member, Akuya. The two separated and went to their positions; Natsu outside of the small abandoned cottage and Zaku inside, but in a far corner taking careful watch over Akuya, feeling the surroundings for anyone close within a one mile radius. Akuya acknowledged the two, and then focused his attention on the small shivering figure at the center of the room. 

Zaku was the one did all the thinking and made all the plans up, being all brainy and smart. While Natsu was the one assign to bring the boy here, having only brute strength and killing instinct with a small brain to accompany them. The sacrifice did its part and none of them really cared if he was alive or not. And now, with his mind-messing skills, it was time for Akuya to do his part in the mission………whether he wanted it or not.

After what seemed to be forever, Akuya finally took his move, walking close to the small shuddering body and kneeled down in front of him.

"_I don't have anything against you, child. But in order to save them, I have to do this. I have to destroy you and revive the Kyubi once again."_

End of Chapter Three       

Author's Note: Ne ne ne…. how was it? Reviews, please.


	4. Chapter Four

Author's Note: Yeah! Black Fox finished editing the chapter. Here's Chapter Fur guys, I hope you would like it. The next chapters might be delayed for a while, but I promise that I'll continue this fic. I got a lot of encouragement. I also got a …. Flame. I never ever got one before. It's a …. New experience. But a lot of people encourage me so it's okay. 

Note for Flamers: I don't mind being flame much, since it is also a form of comment. But please, next time, leave out the gutter words, please. I don't take kindly to bad words. 

Disclaimer. I only own Ayume, Zaku, Natsu, Akuya.

Title: Precious 

Chapter Four

Edited by: Black Fox

_Flashback:_

" You know your Father well, boy." The man sneered, walking towards Naruto. 

"Wh-wh-who are you?" Naruto asked, walking backwards, eyes full of fear, wincing a few times as the cuts from the glass jolted through his body.

_"Onii-chan, tasukete!"___

" Your worst nightmare. Just call me Natsu-sama."

_"Onii-chan!"_

"Where do you think you're going, brat?" the mysterious person asked Naruto, sneering darkly at him. Shock flooded Naruto's system upon noticing how close the man suddenly was. He didn't even see the man move! 

"What do you want?" Naruto asked him, trying to act brave, but a whimper escape from his lips. The man smiled sinisterly, scaring Naruto even more.

" You." He answered simply, grabbing hold of Naruto's shirt and ready to pick him up, before Naruto bit him, hard. 

Natsu yelped, letting go of Naruto. He inspected his hand and blood oozed out of the wound. It wasn't fatal, but if a Shinobi's who's ego is large would think it as a humiliation to be wounded that way. And Natsu had the biggest ego of them all.

" Why you brat! You'll pay for that!" Natsu took out a dagger from his holster, sneering angrily at Naruto. What ever thoughts of escaping Naruto had in his mind, fled from the minute he saw light glint off of the dagger. Before he can even think about evading the weapon, Naruto felt the dagger cut him across the chest, his blood spilling on the mad man and some splashing on the lamp. 

Naruto held his wound, eyes closed painfully, a trail of blood descending from his mouth. Naruto fell to the floor, the impact sending waves of pain through out his body. He didn't know what to do anymore, just one thought ran through his mind. 

'_Escape.__ Escape from this mad man_.'

He started to crawl away heading towards the couch. Natsu seemed to have no problem with that and just stared at the boy, slight amusement radiating from his eyes. Naruto already had trouble breathing and his arms felt weak. He didn't even know why he was heading towards the couch, but he continued anyway. His eye sight started to blur, more pain wreck through his body with each move he made. Finally not able to withstand the pain anymore, Naruto world faded to black, his hand falling limply on the floor.

_End of flashback._

" Are you alright?" Akuya called out to the boy, his voice void of emotion. Naruto snapped out of his trance and stared into the man's blue eyes. So much like his yet, the exact opposite Akuya's eyes were emotionless, lifeless; while Naruto's eyes were so full of emotion: fear, pain, anxiety.

" _Such__ innocent eyes… He is not tainted even with the Kyubi inside him. Too innocent for the Kyubi. I'm sorry child._"

" Are you alright?" Akuya asked again, this time touching Naruto's face. Naruto flinched away, afraid that the man would hurt him like the other one had done. 

"I'm fine," Naruto answered softly. 

"You should come with us, away from this village," the man suddenly told Naruto out of the blue. Naruto was thrown off guard, his eyes growing wide. He didn't notice that Akuya's hand was still touching his cheek, that it was starting to grow blue.

"Naze?"

" What do you mean?" Akuya countered, his voice growing to a whisper. "Why would I go away from this village?" Naruto asked again, this time, curiosity shinning in his eyes. 

"_He wasn't told of the demon yet. He is only a child after all. A mere four year old. Too young to be destroyed."_

" The villagers hate you. They hate you so much that they wish to kill you every time they see you." Naruto felt something trigger inside his mind. A memory, a very distant memory. 

" I… I don't understand? They hate… they hate me? But I never did anything wrong to be hated by them. I have never left the house without someone with me…" Naruto mumbled to himself, his mind going hazy.

"They don't hate you because you did anything wrong, they hate you for who you are." Naruto gazed at him, his eyes getting unfocused as Akuya continued to speak to him but he could feel pain in his heart, pain as Akuya spoke.

"Long time ago, a demon fox rampaged in Konoha. It killed many people, brought suffering and pain. Only the fourth Hokage could stop it, but then, he wasn't able to kill it, only seal it inside a cave for it was too strong. Sealing the Kyubi inside the cave did nothing but weaken it and it stayed there, buying its time until the right moment came for it to escape. Years passed and Konoha gradually rose up once again, but none could forget the intense suffering the Kyubi caused. They lost love ones…comrades…friends…families….

Slowly, the Kyubi began to gain its powers back and with that, the seal started to break. The fourth Hokage didn't have much choice. He had to seal the Kyubi again, but this time, he needed a vessel. The body of a human being. He chose a baby boy, with yellow-golden hair and innocent blue eyes. That baby was you, Naruto, you are the demon fox. The Kyubi."

"I… I can't be the Kyubi. Otou-san… Otou-san never told me…" Naruto breathe out, the pain intensifying in his heart. He could feel his heart beating widely, each beat causing him pain. He didn't understand what was happening. 

Stares… angry stares and glares… 

In the back of Naruto's mind, he could see images, the villagers looking at him and whispering. Naruto only noticed them for a while, thinking that they weren't staring at him but somebody behind them. He would shifted his attention back to Sasuke and continue on telling him about his day, whether it be with Kakashi, Iruka, Tsunade or Jiraiya. But then he could still feel their stares. He would eventually grow uncomfortable but he still tried his best to give Sasuke every single happy detail.

Glares… full of anger and hatred. Naruto never understood. 

"The villagers hate you so much, chibi Kyubi. They don't want you to hurt them again. After all, a monster is living inside you, making you a monster as well." Akuya watched Naruto, boy looked more afraid than when Natsu was hurting him. Akuya could feel the pain Naruto was feeling. After all… he was the one causing that pain. 

Red chakra started to emit from Naruto's body as the boy kept on mumbling, trying to reassure himself. But he couldn't save himself now. Akuya started phrase three. Nobody can save him now.

~~~~

Kakashi, Itachi, Jiraiya and three other unimportant Jounins, for now, were jumping from tree to tree at a fast pace, trying to clear as much ground as possible in a short time. Jiraiya was in front when he suddenly stopped, halting the others. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed and he scanned the area. 

"Can you guys feel it?" 

"Feel what, Jiraiya-sama?" one of the Jounin asked, not understanding the Sennin. 

"The Kyubi's chakra. I can feel it. It's weak, but it is still there," Jiraiya explained turning to look at them. Itachi and Kakashi concentrated; slowly but surely, they felt the familiar chakra of the deadly Kyubi. It was weak as Jiraiya said. 

Itachi's eyes snapped open. 

"Jiraiya-sama, you don't think…"

Jiraiya shook his head, understanding what Itachi was saying. 

"No. I don't think so. The seal the Yondaime made is strong and cannot be easily broken. The worst thing that can happen though is that… the Kyubi could take control of Naruto's body."

" There. It's over that direction," Kakashi suddenly pointed out directing west from them. 

"How'd you know it's over their Kakashi?" Itachi asked the copycat ninja. 

"The chakra is unstable, I can barely pinpoint it." 

" I felt it grow a little bit in that direction. There is also a cottage not far from here. It's abandon, a perfect place to hide if you're on the run," Kakashi explained, jumping down from the tree. 

"Okay, let's split up then. The three of you continue on this direction. If you didn't find anything, go to this direction. If Kakashi's right, then we'll be meeting our three mysterious Jounins anytime now," Jiraiya gave them the new order and six of them split up and disappearing from view; one going north, the other west.

~~~~

" Everyone hates me?" Naruto asked to nobody in particular. Then in his mind, an image of his family flashed giving Naruto confidence. "It doesn't matter if the villagers hate me, I have people who don't, their my-"

" Family?" Akuya finished for Naruto. Naruto gaze at the man, not answer the question. "How naïve of you. Didn't you know that your _Family_ are the ones who suffered the most?"

" Kakas-"

" Hatake Kakashi, the copycat ninja? All his comrades died in the fight between Konoha and the Kyubi; every last one of them, except for him. He blames himself for that. Why's it that he was the only one who survive? Why? It's because he has to take revenge, revenge on the Kyubi for causing him pain, sufferings and sadness. Didn't you know? He only came close to you to buy him some time. To kill you… to have revenge…"

" Iruka-oji-san doesn-"

" Ahh… Umino Iruka…he hates you just like the rest, maybe even more than the rest. He wishes to kill you as well. He doesn't care about you; he hates you with all his being. After all, you killed his parents. Yes, chibi Kyubi. That demon inside of you killed his parents in front of him. And since it is inside you, you killed them as well. Iruka grew up without his parents. Nobody to take care of him… nobody to praise him when he did great things… nobody to love him…he hates you because you are a demon…you lived while his parents died…."

Naruto started to panic, his heart beating wildly in his chest, pain intensifying in his heart and mind. 

"Tsunade-hime, Jiraiya-oji-san! They take care of me, they-"

"Have no choice. They don't want to take care of you, but they have no choice. You killed the fourth Hokage after all. Didn't you know? The Fourth Hokage died sealing that thing inside you. He had to use his life force to make sure that the Kyubi is forever bounded within you. And the Fourth Hokage, The Yondaime was a very good friend to Tsunade and Jiraiya, a very important person. But you managed to destroy it once again. Did you know that Tsunade never really wanted to be Hokage? She wanted to travel and gamble, but she was force to stay and become Hokage. You made her lose her freedom. And Jiraiya, he had to stay to make sure you didn't hurt anybody, that you wouldn't become the demon that you are and kill everybody. You made them lose their freedom. The freedom that they craved…"

Naruto's eyes started to form tears, some already cascading down. His cheeks were already flushed; his knuckles white from clutching them so hard. The red chakra that was coming out of his body started to grow in size, the energy level rising. Zaku, who'd been listening all through out the conversation quietly, abruptly stood up. He walked towards the door, his back facing Akuya. 

" They're coming. You can take your time, but try to wrap it up quickly. Natsu already wasted enough time," Zaku inform him opening the door to join Natsu. He knew that Akuya wouldn't be able to answer back, but could hear him.

'_It's not long now. He's slowly falling for my trap. It won't be long now; Naruto would wholly fall and be trap inside. There's no escape for him, nobody can break him from the pain.'_

~~~~~

"I can feel it now. It's definitely coming from this direction," Jiraiya called out to the two other ninjas. 

"What's going on? Why is growing stronger? Could it be because the Kyubi is really taking over my son's body?" Itachi asked back. 

"I don't know Itachi. It could be because of that. I can't think up of another reason. We best hurry," Jiraiya ordered. The three quickened their pace and within minutes, the cottage came into view,  two Jounin- one leaning on the cottage door, the other standing up face contorted into a sickening blood thirsty smile- met them. The three skid to a stop in front of the two.

" We've been waiting," Zaku calmly said. 

"Didn't know we're that popular. If I knew that we would have fans, I would have freshened up a little," Jiraiya sarcastically told them. 

"Enough talk! I want to fight, now! I haven't had a decent fight for a long time now, don't disappoint me," Natsu yelled, taking hold of his double-edge sword and going into a fighting position. 

"Baka," Zaku called out to him.

Natsu glared at Zaku, getting irritated with his "Mightier than Thou" attitude. 

"What do you want you smart ass? Why don't you give me some fun?!"

" Bakeru! You already caused a lot of damage to our mission so shut up and wait like a good puppy," Zaku ordered, starting to feel a headache coming. "I set up traps all over the place. That's why those three didn't instantly charge at us or they would activate it. I told you before that we need to buy some time," Zaku angrily explain to Natsu, he whispered the last part. 

"You sure know how to pick a partner. You should put him on a leash, or else he might run away," Kakashi told Zaku, purposely irritating the muscle-bound man. It worked like a charm as Natsu instantly growled loud and charge. Well, almost, if it wasn't for Zaku who instantly used his whip, wrapped it around Natsu's legs pulling, hard, causing the big man to fall flat on his face.

If the situation at hand wasn't so serious, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Itachi would have laughed, but since it is, they just settled for a smirk. 

"You idiotic monkey! I told you to stay put or you'll set the traps on you. You're testing my patience Natsu," Zaku warned him. He let go of Natsu's legs and hid the whip, seething with anger. 

"_Damn! They saw my weapon. They have the upper hand now. They know Natsu's weakness and it won't be long now, and they'll figure mines. Argh! We're in deep shit. If I don't think of anything fast, we'll fail the mission. Boss won't like that_," Zaku thought to himself, but still keeping an eye on Natsu in case he did something stupid again. 

Zaku knew that letting his guard down in front of the enemy was like going on a suicide mission, but currently, it is more advisable to keep his eyes on Natsu than on the three Konoha ninjas. They can't do anything for awhile anyways. The perimeter around the cottage was filled with traps and each was connected to each other. If one trap was to set off, the rest would follow, giving the intruder no time to react or save himself.     

"It's your fault anyway. Who told you to set up those traps anyway? I can handle them easy without your help," Natsu threw back at him. Zaku snorted, rolling his eyes at the other man. Zaku really couldn't believe that he got stuck with such a stupid person whose ego could practically fit ten full grown men and maybe one child. He would have preferred anything over the idiotic monkey, even a real monkey would do.

" Natsu… I heard about you,' Kakashi started to say. Of course for Zaku, he instantly knows that Kakashi is lying. 

Natsu was never allowed out of the institute for awhile because he hadn't completed his training yet. And there was no way that Natsu could be famous since ever single one of the mission he went on were either aborted because of his stupidity or messed up, because of his stupidity…again. But before he could say anything, his hand moved on its own and clamp up to his mouth. 

Zaku's eyes grew wide as realization hits him hard on the gut.

 They weren't only trying to make Natsu mad enough to set the traps off on him; they were also distracting him while the black haired guy performed his Shadow Binder. And they succeeded. Zaku turned his eyes on Itachi, who has also his hand on his mouth. Zaku was so busy trying to stop Natsu from doing something stupid that he didn't saw Itachi performed the jutsu.

"_Kuso__!__ Kuso, kuso, kuso!!!"_ Zaku kept repeating in his mind. At this rate, their only option was to abort the mission. Zaku could practically feel his boss' anger. They are so close to getting the Kyubi. "_Wait! Akuya. I totally forgot about him. They don't know that there is one other. I'm sure that Akuya is almost done. Akuya, hurry up! Perform the seal!"_ Zaku screamed at his mind, hoping that Akuya really was about to be done.

" I know that I'm pretty popular," Natsu proudly agreed, standing on his feet with a smug look on his face. Kakashi smirk behind his mask. 

"_Hooked_…"

" Yeah, they say that this Natsu guy is soo dumb that comparing it to a monkey is offending for the said animal."

One angry pumping vein.

" They also said that this Natsu guy was so dumb that he can't even walk on his two feet without the help of his partner. They say that this Natsu guy has nothing other than his muscle to show off with."

" Teme…." Two angry pumping veins.

"_Lined_…"

"They say that this Natsu guy couldn't have a normal conversation with people without getting confuse, let alone have an intelligent conversation, which the animals would probably have better understanding than you would."

"That's it buddy, I'm going to _KILL YOU!!!_" 

"_Sunk."___

_"What a sucker!"_ Zaku thought to himself as Natsu charged forward and set off all the traps. Zaku doesn't even know if Natsu would survive that. On the positive side, Itachi's Shadow Binder is disrupted, allowing Zaku to move. Only one think is in his mind now, "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"           

*POOF*POOF*POOF*POOF*POOF*

Five other Zaku's appeared and the minute that Zaku was done, Natsu came jumping out of the smoke and started to charge at Kakashi. He had injuries all over, but nonetheless okay and still burning with anger. "_That idiotic monkey is a monkey after all_," Zaku told himself and smiling despite the predicament they were in. 

Three Zaku's went to Jiraiya, while the other three went to Itachi. 

"This should even the odds," Zaku told the two. 

"Hump! Don't underestimate me," Jiraiya snorted, getting into a fighting stance. 

"He already did," Itachi commented.

~~~~

"It's not true! IT'S NOT TRUE!" 

"_He's trapped. He can't get out of this any more. I must make the seal now, or it'll be too late,_" Akuya cried out in alarm to himself. 

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then everything turn pitch black.

~~~~~

Sasuke bolted up, breathing heavily, his whole body covered in sweat. His face was pale and his hand instantly held onto his rapidly beating heart. Pain, so much pain coursed through his body, making Sasuke cried out in agony. Tsunade rushed to his side, holding the boy.

" Sasuke, what's the matter? Where does it hurt?"

" Naru-chan… he's so much in pain. I can feel it. So much pain and sadness… he's dying… he's slowly dying inside…"

"Sasuke… Naruto… What's going on?" Tsunade whispered.

End of Chapter Four.       

Author's Note: Thanks for all the encouragements again. I especially would like to thank Ookima and Black Fox. Please Review Everyone.


	5. Chapter Five

Author's Note: Sorry that I took so long to update. I had to prepare the things I needed for enrollment and since I haven't had any sleep for the past two weeks, I decided to catch up on it. Anyway, I hope you guys would still continue reading my story even if I do take long to update. Here's chapter five.

Disclaimer. I only own Ayume, Zaku, Natsu, Akuya and Ryu.

Title: Precious

Chapter Five

Edited by: Black Fox

                The beeping sounds resounded all through the room.

                Sasuke looked at the silent figure on the bed. Wires were in various places; on the boy's arms, heart and skull. Machines surrounded the bed, making him look smaller than he already seemed to be.

                Sasuke hated hospitals. He hated them before and he still did even now. He always had a lot of bad memories in this place. The place where his mother died. His hold on the chair tightened as the sickening thought that this would be the place where Naruto would die.

                '_NO! Naru-chan will not die! He's strong! He'll survive'_ Sasuke yelled inside his head. But he couldn't help, but feel that just maybe he was wrong; the evidence already in front of him.

                A few weeks ago, Itachi, Kakashi and Jiraiya appeared, faces contorted into fright as they showed the bruised and battered, not to mention half-dead, Naruto to Tsunade. She didn't waste anytime, barking orders left and right. Sasuke just sat there, his eyes not looking away from the sight of his baby brother's abused body. Sasuke was too scared to go near, desperately wishing that all of what was happening was just a dream and that Itachi would come any second now to wake him up in time for school.

                But minutes passed and Sasuke could still see Naruto's body. Scratches everywhere, his right hands burnt, dried tears on his cheeks. Even Naruto's clothing took a beating. Even until now, even with Naruto all cleaned up, bandaged and changed, Sasuke could still see his wounds.

_                He could feel them_.

                "Naru-chan….you can't leave me. Didn't you promise me that you would stay strong? Didn't you promise me that you'd never leave me?" Sasuke whispered, hoping that Naruto would just open his baby blue eyes and smile. But it never did happened. Naruto didn't even stir.

                The movement of his chest was the only thing indicating that Naruto is alive.

                "Sasuke….Hokage-sama wants to talk to us," Kakashi softly told the boy, appearing beside him. Kakashi heard everything. In fact, he has been watching the two boys since Sasuke came in. he saw the despair in Sasuke's eyes and couldn't help feeling like he caused all this. If only they came a minute early, if only they didn't bother to take precaution, then maybe….then maybe Naruto wouldn't be in this coma.

                "Sasuke…" Kakashi called again, "Hokage-sama wants to talk to us."

                Sasuke dully looked at Kakashi, never letting go of Naruto's hand. Kakashi flinched visibly as he stared into Sasuke's jet black eyes. So lonely…so sad…so haunting. Kakashi could never, in a million years, imagine that this would affect Sasuke so hard. Then again, Kakashi had yet to see any other sibling feel so possessive and protective over their younger siblings like Sasuke was to Naruto.

                "Can't I stay with Naru-chan?" Sasuke whispered low, so low that Kakashi had to strain his ears to hear.

                "I'm sorry Sasuke, but the Hokage's order was that all of us must be present." Kakashi never felt so bad before. He felt as if he was breaking the boy's heart twice in a row.

                It was no secret to anyone that Sasuke blamed himself for Naruto's kidnapping. He kept on screaming after the shock of seeing Naruto's bruised body. It took Itachi and two other ANBU to hold him still while Tsunade shot him with a tranquilizer needle. He slept for two days, and once he awoke; Sasuke immediately went to see Naruto. He hadn't left his side since then. Nobody could make him leave Naruto's side, not even Itachi.

                Speaking of Itachi, the man wasn't doing so well either. He hardly ate or slept. Iruka had to force him to lie down and spoon-feed him. He himself was even forced to knock the man unconscious just to get him to sleep. Itachi would visit Naruto but he wouldn't stay long, seeing his son in this kind of state, barely alive. He said that he couldn't take it.

Truth to be told, this is probably the first time in two weeks will Kakashi see Itachi. Quite frankly, he's afraid of what he would see.

                "Sasuke, let's go. Everyone is waiting for us."

                "You look worse for wear," Jiraiya commented from shadows.

                "You don't look any better either," Tsunade retorted back, too tired to look towards Jiraiya.

                "Couldn't sleep," Jiraiya called back, as if defending himself.

                "Blaming yourself won't do anything, Jiraiya." Tsunade stood up and walked towards the windows, looking at the fading sun as night approached.

                "I have every right to blame myself. If only I hadn't wasted time playing with those trash, maybe I could have saved Naruto from all this. I could have saved Itachi and Sasuke from all the pain they are suffering right now."

_Flashback:_

"_This should even the odds," Zaku told the two. _

_"Hump!__ Don't underestimate me," Jiraiya snorted, getting into a fighting stance._

_"He already did," Itachi commented._

_"I'm tired of this talk. I'll kill you two and then we'll be on our way!" Zaku exclaimed, throwing three kunai at Jiraiya. _

_"That makes two of us!" The frog-sennin smirked at the white-haired man, taking hold of the kunai and throwing it back at Zaku. He disappeared from sight and reappeared behind Zaku, earning a punch straight in his face. _

_"That won't work old man. You maybe fast, but I'm faster," Zaku whispered into Jiraiya's ear, his punch touching air. Jiraiya smirk grew as his other arm snake behind him to grab hold of Zaku's collar._

_"Nan-"_

_Zaku's__ sentence cut off, Jiraiya slammed him straight into a tree. _

_"I told you once and I tell you again, don't underestimate me, boy." The sennin sneered at Zaku, punching him in the face. A poof sound is heard and the clone disappeared. _

_                "What's wrong old man? Tired of playing?" _

_                Jiraiya looked up to see the real Zaku smiling down on him. _

_                The three leaf shinobi continued to fight the intruders, none of them actually losing, but none of them are winning either. It seemed that they were equally level and the only way to win was to wait until someone lost their concentration. _

_                "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"_

_                "AKUYA/NARUTO!" Both Zaku and Itachi yelled, seeing the abandon cottage burst into flames. Zaku's clones disappeared and so did the real Zaku, heading towards the now burning cottage. Itachi and Jiraiya went after him to rescue Naruto while Kakashi was still fighting Natsu, who was bend on killing Kakashi._

_                "Akuya!" Zaku called out, reaching over to where Akuya stood, shaking with fear. "Akuya! What's the matter?" Zaku was quick to ask. _

_                'Something bad must have happened to make the usual stoic man act like this.' Akuya couldn't open his mouth from fear, so he used his fingers to point at his source of terror. Zaku followed his fingers and gasp out loud from the sight. _

_                "Holy shit…"_

_                Not far away from them was Naruto; one hand on his eye and the other was burning, burning with angry flames. He was breathing heavily, forcing himself to stand up, his visible eye wide with terror. From time to time, they could hear him mumble, but Zaku didn't plan to stay any longer to find out. 'Akuya must have been disturbed while he was doing the seal. The burnt wound from his chest must be from that kid. The boss never told us that the Kyubi was this powerful,' Zaku thought to himself. He helped Akuya up and backed away from the raging boy, afraid that he would charge at any minute now. _

_                "We have no choice Akuya. We'll have to abandon the mission. I don't care what the boss would do to us, it'll be better than being dead," Zaku informed his shaking companion. As Itachi and Jiraiya entered the burning cottage, Zaku and Akuya burst out from the roof. Zaku paused for a while to yell at Natsu. Once he got the idiotic monkey's attention, he signals the big guy to leave the fight and escape. Natsu wasn't very happy, but he had no choice in the matter. The three went away, jumping from tree to tree, Kakashi hot on their trail. The cottage started to fall apart, putting more pressure on the two shinobis._

_                "Naruto!" Itachi yelled out, having a hard time looking around with all the fumes. Finally, he spotted a figure near the walls and called Jiraiya to join him. But the two stumbled back when a burning arm lashed out to them, Naruto walking towards them. "Naruto…." Itachi looked at his son, or what looked to be his son. Gone were the innocent, sky blue eyes and in their place were red, blood-thirsty eyes. His whole right arm is burning up in flames, red chakra following out of his body like wild fire. _

_                "Kill… I'll kill anyone who hurts me…" Naruto's voice came out low and raspy as if he was screaming for a while now.        _

_                Itachi couldn't move; he kept on staring at Naruto both awed and terrified of the power that he is showing. Things couldn't be said the same for Jiraiya. One look at Naruto and he started to do a sealing technique to bring Naruto back._

                "Jiraiya, they are here," Tsunade called out to him, breaking the man from his walk down memory lane. He grunted and stood up, coming out of the shadows to face the guest.

Itachi, Iruka, Kakashi and Sasuke entered the room with silence. They all looked grim and tired. Most especially Itachi and Sasuke. Everyone settled down and waited for the Fifth Hokage to speak.

                For a fortnight and a half, Naruto was in a coma. The Godaime had done everything in her power to stabilize him and hoped the boy wouldn't die while in his sleep. But she couldn't wake Naruto. They all wanted to know what is wrong with him, but Tsunade told them that they would have to wait for a while before she could say. She said that she had to research first. It made them uneasy knowing that the great Tsunade had to do that before knowing what kind of condition Naruto was in.

                "After much research, I only came up with one thing. Mind-messing Jutsu," Tsunade calmly told them, sitting back to wait for their response. All four men blink at Tsunade while Sasuke glared at the Hokage, getting angrier at her for making the meeting longer than necessary. He wanted to go back to Naruto's room and be with him.

                "Mind-messing? What the- Tsunade, have you gone mad or something? For all the years I have traveled, I never ever have heard such a Jutsu," Jiraiya said, coming closer to the blonde to see if she is running a fever or something. Tsunade slapped his hands away and with an irritated "hump!" stood up and went back to window to gaze outside.

                "Neither have I. But I came upon a very old book, and every symptoms I saw Naruto have points at that Jutsu. The book said that that Jutsu is a forbidden one and can only be taught to a selected few. It has no information on where it originated or from whom it originated. The mind-messing Jutsu is used to make people crazy and as the name implies to mess with their minds. Problem is that the ninja has to focus all his concentration on the person he is to mess with, leaving him powerless over other dangers. He is also to have one hand place besides the victims temple and release a continues chakra to penetrating his mind. It's some sort of hypnotic trick or a genjutsu really. The ninja would then say things to mess up the victims mind making him either go crazy or commit suicide."

                "So they want Naruto dead, is that it?" Kakashi questioned out. Tsunade turned to look at them, shaking her head.

                "No, they don't. I found a circular with rough edge wound on Naruto's chest. I know that wound. It's not ordinary and not just any one could make it. That wound was made from a chakra sealing technique, an unfinished one. I believe that whoever is after Naruto was only after the Kyubi's power," Tsunade explained to them, feeling a headache coming. She hadn't been sleeping or eating right since the day Naruto was brought in. then again, none of them have anyway.

                "So you're saying that instead of making Naruto crazy or commit suicide, the jutsu only caused Naruto to let the Kyubi take over his body," Itachi said, staring at Tsunade. Things are slowly going into place.

                "I guess that that explains why we saw the Kyubi instead of Naruto," Jiraiya mused out loud.

                "I don't get it, Hokage-sama. Why would they use a chakra sealing technique?" Iruka questioned out, his face contorted into confusion.

                "I'm not really sure. Actually, I have no idea why. I would have expected them to use something else."

                "They want the Kyubi, right? They were planning to seal Naruto so that the Kyubi will have control over the body," Jiraiya answered. "It makes sense, really. Naruto hasn't learned how to use the Fox's chakra, so he is very useless. By making the Kyubi as the master of the body, they can achieve their goal. The only thing that bothers me is-what the hell were they thinking? No mere human can control the Kyubi unless it is its will."

                "I don't know, but enough of that. I have more pressing matters to tell you guys." All eyes were on Tsunade.

                " We have now stabilized Naruto's condition. But his mind is now a gooey mess. He did wake up one time, but he kept on screaming at the sight of people. He won't let me get close and he kept on saying sorry."

                "Why didn't you tell us about it!" Sasuke exploded with anger; glaring at the Hokage and not really caring if he is disrespectful. Itachi held his down, though it is also obvious that he to is angered at the knowledge. Tsunade looked down on the wooden floor, her eyes glazing over as tears slowly dropped. Everyone was taken aback by her sudden show of emotion.

                "You should have seen him. He kept on crying and crying and screaming and screaming. I didn't know what to do. I wanted so much to ask what was wrong, but he just kept on. When I tried to get close to him, he whimpered and moved away from me. It's as if he is afraid that I would hurt him. I'm not really sure what that bastard said to Naruto, but I have an idea what." Tsunade took out a semi-burnt bundle of papers and threw them at Itachi.

"That paper is full of information on Naruto and every one around him. It has everyone's info. They seem to have a spy here at Konoha and from what the "sacrifice" had confess, there is one, but he refused to tell us who. That bastard Akuya, as you guys have supplied, probably use us against him. You all know that the Kyubi has caused many damaged around here, to us. He made Naruto believe that he is the Kyubi."

                "Arixu-sama is ready to see you three," an unimportant lady announced to the three nervous looking men. Well, two of three are visibly scared, while the last one was just keeping it inside.

                "Hump! This is your entire fault Idiotic Monkey," Zaku growled out, repressing the urge to knock the man beside him unconscious.

                "Look you smart-ass! It's this freak's fault. If he just sealed the damn demon then the Arixu-san won't have to get angry with us." Zaku clenched his hands, glaring darkly at the white-haired man.

                "Bakeru! If you didn't make us lost so much time, he would have successfully sealed the boy!" Zaku sneered at him, giving in to his urges and punched the larger man in the face. Unfortunately, a hand stopped it in its course.

                "Now, now Zaku-kun. You shouldn't go and punch your own companion," a blue-haired, violet-eyed, smiling man said. Zaku quickly pulled his hand out of his grip and exclaimed,

                "Boss! I didn't know you were there."

                The man Zaku called "boss" flinch slightly at his self-proclaimed nickname "Boss". Ohhh…how he hated that name.

                "Zaku-kun, I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, call me Ryu." Zaku flinched, getting uncomfortable. For some reason that he didn't know, Zaku was the only one, the man allowed to call him Ryu. The rest was always either Arixu-sama or Arixu-san, never just Ryu; and Zaku was really uncomfortable calling him just Ryu or Arixu-sama, so he invented the nickname "Boss", which made him more comfortable.

                Oh, Zaku heard the rumors around the institute about their boss being gay and all. Zaku wasn't homophobic, heck, he wasn't sure himself what gender he preferred considering he never has time to think about it. But hearing those rumors made Zaku nervous every time he is alone with Ryu, and that happens most of the time; especially every time Ryu would "accidentally" call him "Zaku-chan".

                "Natsu-san, I heard about what you did in the recent mission. I also heard that you three didn't manage to accomplish the mission," Ryu stated, looking at Natsu and Akuya while eyeing the visibly nervous Zaku.

                "Arixu-san! It wasn't my fault! This freak here didn't sealed the boy!" Natsu protested. Akuya silently looked at Natsu and then at Ryu, not saying anything for his defense.

                "It's doesn't matter. The plan has not been destroyed completely. In fact, I think you three had made it more…stabilized. So for now, I'll forgive you Natsu-san and Akuya-san. Zaku-kun, I'll meet you at my office in about five hours to discuss some important matters. I know how tired you must be after traveling for such a long time, so I'm allowing all of you rest. Good day then."

                Zaku didn't know whether he should feel happy or miserable.

                Naruto slowly awoke, his baby blue eyes hazy at first, but slowly cleared. He blinked for a while and then slowly sat up, looking around him, to see if there is something to look at. Everything was dark; all around him, darkness greets him. He tried to rack his brain to see if he knows where he is, but nada, his thoughts came up blank.

                "Hello? Anyone there?" Naruto called out curiously. Instantly, a corridor appeared in front of him.

                Naruto blinked a few times to see if his was imagining things, but the corridor was still there; curiosity got the best of Naruto. He stood up and slowly walked towards the hallway. Seeing as to the corridor wasn't some sort of trap, Naruto walked onwards, not knowing where it would lead him. After walking a few minutes, he entered a room and in the center is a big, golden gate (the part in the anime where Naruto goes inside his head and told the Kyubi to lend him some chakra). Naruto's eyes widen with wonder. He never had seen such beautiful gate and it was so big. He walked forward, coming close for a better look.

                Naruto touched the cold metal, marveling at its beauty.

                " Boy…" a voice hissed.

                Naruto looked up with curiosity to see the Kyubi in its entire splendor. But instead of becoming afraid, the four-year old reached out to trying to get a hold of the fiery fur of the Kyubi. The Demon Fox looked amused at the boy, letting him touch his coat.

                "It's not hot," Naruto commented in his childish voice. The Kyubi choose not to answer; instead, he lay down, coming closer to the boy.

                '_Such an interesting child.__ He maybe worthy to be my host. Maybe…'_

                "Anou sa, anou sa, who are you? I'm called Naruto. What are you called?" Naruto smiled at the Kyubi with happiness and innocence. The Demon was shocked for a moment, but then chooses to enlighten the boy.

                "I'm called Kyubi, the demon fox."

                '_That name… Kyubi…it sounds so familiar. I heard that name before_,' Naruto thought to himself, bringing a finger to his lips as he continues to look at the Kyubi with curiosity.

                '_They all hate you…' _

                Naruto's eyes widen a fraction and he scanned the area, looking for the voice that said that.

_                'They all want to kill you. You are after all a demon…_'

                His eyes widen even more and fear started to consume Naruto. He holds his head, feeling pain all of a sudden.

_                'Hatake Kakashi, the copycat ninja? All his comrades died in the fight between Konoha and the Kyubi- to kill you…to have reverend-Iruka…he hates you just like the rest, maybe even mo-they didn't want to take care of you-you made them lose their freedom….'_

                "I remember now… he said that I'm a demon. Everyone hates me…I-I-I caused pain to Konoha. To Otou-san and Onii-chan..." Naruto trailed out, tears descending his cheeks. "I remember…"

_Flashback:_

_                "Otou-san! Otou-san and Onii-chan loves me! They would never hate me! Onii-chan said that he'll protect me forever!" Naruto screamed, looking at Akuya's blue eyes as if trying to reassure himself. _

_                "They lied. They never loved you. They hate you. More than the rest. You killed Ayume. You killed your own mother. Itachi would rather have his wife back than you. But he has no choice. He loves her so much as much as he hates you. You took away his precious person from him, his most precious. Sasuke hates you. He only said that he'd protect you because he had no choice. If it were up to him, he would have killed you long time ago. He feels fear, fear every time he is with you. But he tries to not show it to you. He's afraid that if he does, you'll take advantage of him and kill him, just like you did all those people, Kyubi. _(Akuya is now calling Naruto Kyubi instead of Chibi Kyubi to make him believe that he himself is Kyubi.)_ Oh, and didn't you know, you killed Itachi's whole clan. Every last one of them. Itachi's the last surviving Uchiha. He lost all his love ones in a split second. Nobody loves you, you bring pain and suffering to all. Why would they love you?"_

                _"But I never meant to! I-I…" Naruto sinks down to his knees, not wanting to look at Akuya. Even his voice carries doubt now. He is shaking violently. ' I feel so cold… why can't I feel warm? Why wouldn't anyone come and rescue me… Nandeste…'_

_                "Come with us, Kyubi. If you're with us, you'll never get hurt anymore. You won't have to see all those hatred glares anymore. You don't have to be afraid anymore," Akuya told him, his voice becoming a hypnotic sound for Naruto._

_                "It's not true! IT'S NOT TRUE!"_

_                "YAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"_

End of Flashback.

                Naruto remember that pain erupted throughout his body. He felt as if he is a pincushion being pinned with thousands of needles of pain. Burning…hot… he felt so hot then and an urge, an urge that he doesn't understand. He doesn't remember what he did, but he felt as if he done something wrong.

By now, Naruto's cries have gotten louder and louder.

                "Boy….." the Kyubi hissed, standing on his four paws. Naruto slowly looked at the Kyubi with fright but then it suddenly changes.

                "IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FAULT! IF ONLY YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE SEALED INSIDE ME!" Naruto yelled at the Demon, more tears falling down. The Kyubi growled, lowering his face down to face Naruto.

                "Do you think I want this? I never wanted to be sealed, especially to a _weak and puny boy_ such as you."

                Naruto looked straight at the eyes of the Kyubi. His eyes suddenly narrowed, stating bravely, "I'm not weak!"

                The Kyubi snorted and narrowed his eyes as well.

                "Prove it boy. Wake up and prove it to me."

                And so, Naruto woke up.

End of Chapter Five.

                Author's Note: Ryu is the person that would be replacing Itachi in his obsession with the Kyubi's power. Anyway, Ryu, Zaku, Natsu and Akuya are all of my characters in my other fics. The four would be making an appearance again later in this fic. I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm sorry that it somehow turns out to be more dramatic. I'll try to make it more umm…lively. I'll introduce Neji in this fic soon, but Gaara might not make a late appearance. I don't know, I'm still deciding. By the way, what's the name of the group of people who are interested with the Kyubi? Akatsuki? Since I', not sure, I just kept on calling it "Institute". .   Please Review everyone.

**                Arixu Ryu**- Long, silky, blue hair that the man usually ties in a high ponytail. His eyes are a rich color of violet, sometimes it almost seems black. He is six foot one inch and is twenty-five years old. Perfect nose, slightly squared chin, almond shaped eyes; all in all, he has a perfect faced. He is not demented, okay, he is slightly demented. Obsessed with power, especially with the Kyubi's and also obsessed in making Zaku just call him Ryu or maybe Ryu-chan if possible. Strong in taijutsu and has a wide knowledge in many types of Jutsu. His way of the ninja is "Kill or be killed."

**                Nobio Zaku- short, non-spiky, white hair that usually gets in the way of his black eyes.** Never bothered to have it cut. Five foot nine inches, twenty-two, and hates being called pretty boy even if he is one. Not too talkative, not too silent, just somewhere in between. Has an IQ over 200, short-tempered and can get nasty when needed. He isn't much of a fighting ninja, but his speed and brains make up for it. Despise talking to idiotic people like Natsu and gets very uncomfortable when a person becomes too close to him for comfort. Likes to converse with Akuya from time to time and is very loyal to Ryu as well as to his group which unfortunately for him, includes Natsu. His way of the ninja is " Think before taking action."

**                Ibuki Natsu - spiky, unruly, black hair (anti-gravity hair) and matching black eyes.** He is six foot two, twenty-three years old. He is a hot-tempered, loudmouth, idiotic monkey that doesn't like to think much. Always wants to fight and can to, if he doesn't fall for traps or something too intelligent for him to notice. Has a disliked over Zaku because he is a smart-ass, thinks that Akuya is a freak and only fears and respects one person, Arixu Ryu. His way of the ninja is " The strong will live and the weak will die."

**                Akamatsu Akuya- long, brown hair that he keeps in a braid.** His eyes are blue and are emotionless. He's quiet unless spoken to and the only person he ever willingly talks to is with Zaku. Twenty-two years old, six foot one and looks like any other ordinary people. A former medic-nin, gets easily irritated though he doesn't show it and has absolutely no loyalty for Ryu. One would say that he is more loyal to Zaku since he doesn't get much irritated with the guy. He was only forced to work for the institute since they hold his parents hostage. Once they did any harm at all on his parents, Akuya would probably be gone but not before killing every last one that belongs to the Institute, even Zaku. Of course, nobody knows that. His way of the ninja is "Don't irritate me, I won't harm you."


	6. Chapter Six

Author's Note: Hmm… I think that I should change the genre. This is starting to be more of a drama then romance. .; ….

Disclaimer. I only own Ayume, Zaku, Natsu, Akuya and Ryu.

Title: Precious

Chapter Six

Edited by: Black Fox

            It has been exactly two years since the incident with Naruto's kidnapping. Sasuke is now eight years old and Naruto's six. But even to this day, Naruto hasn't gone back to his old cheerful, happy self. No matter what they did, he still believes that they hate him for doing things that were not his fault. Oh, the villagers still hate him, maybe even more so. Everyone knows that it would take the turn of the century before they would ever stop hating Naruto.

            Two years ago, when Naruto finally woke up everybody was so happy, especially Sasuke. He rushed right to him and gave him the biggest hug he ever gave; Naruto flinched and pushed Sasuke away. Saying he was shocked would be the understatement of the year. Sasuke was stunned to the point that all he could do was gap at him for one whole minute.

_Flashback:_

_            Sasuke stared and stared at the younger Uchiha brother, mentally forcing Naruto to look at him but Naruto didn't look at his eyes instead he stared at their heads. What was so interesting with them anyway?! Sasuke was puzzled at the sudden turned of Naruto's attitude. What Naruto said stunned him even more._

_            "Onegai… Onii-chan, don't touch me. I feel so dirty."_

_            Rage consumed the black-haired boy like wild fire and he didn't mean to put his anger to Naruto, but he did it anyway. Sasuke glared at him and shouted. _

_            "NANI?!" _

_That was his mistake, probably the largest mistake the loving brother could have done. Frightened, Naruto curled into a ball and cried. _

_            He cried. _

_            Sasuke never made him cried before, heck! The boy would probably kill himself first before he would intentionally make his Naru-chan cry. Sasuke would never ever want to see him cry. When Naruto cried, Sasuke felt sadness and hurt knowing he was the one who hurt the young boy.._

_            "Naru-" he tried to call him again, but a hand stopped Sasuke. It was the Fifth Hokage. He turned to look at her wondering why she is stopping him. _

_            "Sasuke, remember what I told you. You have to be very gentle with him. He is in a very fragile state."_

_            Sasuke slowly nodded his head, remembering what she told them before an ANBU informed the adult and child that Naruto had woken up. The Hokage told them that when Naruto woke up, he would most likely believe that he was the cause for their pain and suffering. Tsunade warned everybody that loud noises might make Naruto even more frightens and that they should also avoid getting mad at the boy. She might as well as that they should locked the boy up inside the house and never be seen._

_Sasuke knew that that would do nothing but bring sadness to his little brother._

_Sasuke walked softly towards the shivering boy on the bed. He tried his best not to frighten him more so. _

_            "Naru-chan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. I'm not angry with you. I was just all worried." Sasuke reached out his hand and gently laid it on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto only whimpered softly as if afraid that Sasuke would stab him._

_Sasuke's eyes grew sad, his hand fall to his side. He could feel tears ready to fall, but he refused to let them loose. Naruto needed him, he had to be strong and not cry now. Crying wouldn't help Naruto recover. _

_            "Sasuke, I think it is best if we let Naruto calm down first. Everything must be so confusing for him," Tsunade told the boy softly, seeing that Naruto's reaction caused Sasuke pain. " I think that he'll be better in a little while."_

_Sasuke didn't argue and just obeyed, leaving the room quietly._

_End of flashback._

            Sasuke sighed out loud as he watched Naruto play outside in the garden. Sasuke would do anything, _absolutely anything, _to bring his Naru-chan back to his old happy self. And believe me; Sasuke did everything in his power to convince Naruto that he never once thought of killing him.

Sasuke's hold on his kunai tightened at the mere thought.

            '_How dare he!! He has no right to play with Naru-chan's mind! He has no right to put nonsense inside Naru-chan's head_!"

            "Sasuke, I need you to watch over your brother, okay? I have an important meeting with the Hokage," Itachi called out to Sasuke near the front door.

            "Hai Otou-san," Sasuke answered, never once leaving his eyes from Naruto. Ever since the incident, Sasuke became paranoid and almost never letting Naruto escape his eyesight.

            "I'm off."

            "Take care."

            Sasuke continued to watch as Itachi walked towards Naruto. The boy stiffened at first and Sasuke could see the hurt in their father's eyes, but it quickly vanished. Itachi kneeled down in front of Naruto and pulled his chin up to met his eyes.

            "Naruto, I know what you are thinking. I will tell you again I love you. I always will. You are a gift from above to me and the same goes for Sasuke," Itachi said leaving no room for argument. He knew that Sasuke was listening.

            "Hai, Otou-san," Naruto answered softly, Sasuke barely heard it. But Itachi caught the reply and smiled gently at the boy, giving him a hug and a kiss on his cheek before going away.

            Naruto blinked for awhile seemingly in a daze and then he resumed playing with the flowers after a while as Sasuke continued to think.

            Sasuke wanted to go out there and join his little brother, but knew Naruto would just be uncomfortable with him around, always thinking that he might do something wrong that would upset Sasuke. Naruto was always open to him and Itachi, now, he's so fragile. If they even raised their voice one octave higher, Naruto would think that they are angry at him. Sasuke never knew that being cautious could be so damn hard, until now.

            Between jugging his school work and training, Sasuke has barely time to spend it with Naruto. Most often, he spends it from a distance and just watch over the boy.

Sasuke gave out another loud sighed. He has been doing that a lot nowadays, sighing.

            '_When I get my hands on those bastards, I'll tear them limb-by-limb. I'll make sure that they wished they never ever messed with the Uchiha family_,' Sasuke angrily told himself, unconsciously activating his Sharingan.

Sasuke had been training very hard so that he could quickly become an ANBU and tracked those bastards down. His urge to become stronger grew as the thought of failing again to protect Naruto. You could almost say the he became obsessed in training to become stronger. He would always spar with Itachi and Kakashi, occasionally, with both, while Iruka take care of Naruto.

            Iruka told him once that Naruto opened up a little to him. He said that he didn't like Sasuke to train all the time because then, Sasuke would become obsessed and would leave him alone. Of course, the initial reaction of the boy was to be jealous of Iruka. He was jealous because Naruto first confined in him rather then Sasuke. But later on, he realize that it was a sign that Naruto was slowly recovering and it wouldn't be soon when Naruto would finally start being comfortable with him. Later on, Sasuke trained less to have more time to play with Naruto, but he continued to progress and improve in his fighting skills while with Naruto, he has yet to make a progress.

            Speaking of being comfortable, Sasuke wondered how Jiraiya was faring. Just a year ago, Naruto became his official apprentice. Everyone knows that Jiraiya wasn't exactly the calmest guy in the world. In fact, Jiraiya was pretty famous when it came to his temper.

            Jiraiya's first two months weren't that great. Jiraiya came to Itachi ranting and shouting about doing something with Naruto and his timid attitude. It was really amusing to see actually. Sasuke never saw the Frog-sennin so steamed before and it really was entertaining.

            Their father just sat there with his arms crossed over his chest and looking passively at Jiraiya, while Jiraiya just continued to ranted and nagged until finally all his angered cooled them.

            In a way, Sasuke knew what Jiraiya was feeling. It was tiresome to always calm Naruto down when he becomes hysterical over nothing. Naruto thought that everything was his fault and would always apologize while crying. It had been taken in to be cautions and not lose their temper at Naruto. Sasuke found it hard to not lose his temper whenever Naruto would blame himself for practically something he never did.

            It didn't help that Naruto is somehow very prone to accidence. It was as if the boy was trying hard to kill himself. Then again, Naruto did try two times a few weeks after they came back home. The first attempt was stopped even before Naruto had a chance to do it. But the second one…. pure anger through Sasuke's body just remembering what had happened.

_Flashback:_

_            "Otou-san, have you seen Naruto? He is not in his room," Sasuke asked Itachi panic evident in his voice. When Sasuke had checked Naruto's room to make sure that Naruto is there, all he found was an open room and an untouched bed. Sasuke panic immediately and run to Itachi. _

_            Itachi couldn't really blame the boy since it was only three weeks had passed since Naruto's first suicide attempt. Lately, Itachi just didn't understand what went through the boy's head. _

_            "It's okay Sasuke. Naruto said that he'd just take a bath before sleeping. You shouldn't worry too much." But in the back of Itachi's mind, he knew Sasuke and he had every right to worry. _

_            Naruto was so unstable, Itachi and Sasuke worried every time Naruto disappeared from their view. Tsunade instructed them to watch over the blond without actually suffocating the boy. It was really hard for the two Sharingan users to pull off, but they managed._

_            Sasuke nodded at his father's answer but the queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach refused to go away. One thing that Sasuke learned as a child was to always trust his gut and instinct feeling. Besides the fact that he has this unusual bond with Naruto that even Tsunade couldn't explain. Right now, his instinct is going haywire. Something was wrong, really wrong._

_Thu-thumb! Thu-thumb!_

_            "Auhhh!!!" Sasuke cried out, falling to his knees, his hand clutching at his heart. _

_            'This feeling… it's the same as before…" Sasuke thought to himself and then his eyes widen. ' He hasn't abducted again, was he?' _

_            "Sasuke! What's wrong?" Itachi exclaimed, kneeling down in front of the boy. At the rate things were going, Itachi would grey before he reached his thirties. _

_            Sasuke didn't answer him; he bolted out of the living room and running toward the bathroom, Itachi trailing behind him. Sasuke slammed the door open hearing in smash into the wall. He surveyed the room, until his eyes rested on the body in the bath-tub. _

_            Sasuke's heart stopped._

_             It looked like the boy had fallen asleep, well would have if the two things are out of place. One, there was blood on the floor. As for the second?_

_             Blood swirled in the now murky water, small rivulets pouring from Naruto's slashed wrist._

_Sasuke finally got out of his shocked state and cried, "Otou-san!!!"_

_            "Oh my… Sasuke, you stay with Naruto. Try to stop his bleeding. I'll go call Hokage-sama to come here. Do you understand me?" _

_            Sasuke nodded his answers, tears already falling down from his eyes. Itachi was reluctant to leave the two boys alone. He's not sure that Sasuke could take care of things in his state. 'I just have to trust him,' Itachi told himself and fled from the house in a fast pace, his heartbeat loudly pounding in his ears._

_The minute Itachi left the house; Sasuke took off his shirt and went to Naruto, wrapping his slashed wrist with it. The blue shirt quickly turned into an even darker color as it absorbed the blood. Sasuke was panicking so much, he couldn't think straight. _

_            "Ne, Onii-chan. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble," Naruto whispered. Sasuke was startled by the sudden voice and turned to look into Naruto's deep blue eyes. But before Sasuke could say a word, Naruto closed his eyes, falling limply to Sasuke._

_            "NO! Naruto wake up! You have to wake up!" Sasuke shouted, violently shaking the unconscious boy. By now, Sasuke's tears are freely falling from his eyes, blurring his vision. Sasuke felt so helpless; he couldn't even stop Naruto from taking his life. Sasuke hugged Naruto's body, crying even harder._

_"Please, Naruto. Wake up. I almost lost you twice; I don't think I could survive if I truly lose you. Naruto…you're my precious person. Please, wake up. Naruto!" _

            End of Flashback.

            Naruto was saved in the nick of time by Tsunade. She arrived looking disheveled and tired, but nonetheless alert and alarm. They never left Naruto with anything sharp or harmful. After a year, Naruto promised them that he wouldn't commit suicide. He said that he would live. Sasuke guessed that Kakashi slapped some sense into the boy. He almost laughed out loud at the irony of it all. Of all the people that could knocked some sense into Naruto' head, it had to be Kakashi.

Sasuke was expecting Iruka because he seems to be in touch with his emotional side more so then most.. Sasuke wasn't really sure on what Kakashi told Naruto, but he heard bits and pieces of it and just put them together.

            Kakashi told Naruto that instead of running away from the problem, he should face the problem. The ninja told the boy that he should prove all the villagers wrong. That Naruto was not a demon, but just Naruto. Jiraiya added in the end that he could become Hokage. And well, things just feel into place.

            Sasuke returned his gazed back at Naruto, who feel asleep in the middle of their garden. Sasuke just shook his head, and went out to pick his brother up.

            'Baka… he could catch a cold.'

            Sasuke couldn't stop himself from smiling as he saw the image his brother portrayed. He looked so adorable with all the flowers surrounding him, petals draped all over his body. Naruto's cheeks were flushed, probably from playing around and his hair in disarray.

            'He looks like some prince. Or maybe a princess,' Sasuke smirked at the thought. Sasuke would always teased Naruto about his cuteness and Naruto would only blush some more making him even more charming to look at.

            Four years ago, Itachi told Sasuke that he would understand the feelings of the villagers when he found his precious person. Somehow, Sasuke could understand them now. He found his precious person and whoever tried to take him away, had to deal with him first.

            " Oni-onii-chan, why are we going to the market?" Naruto nervously asked, wanting more than nothing to hide behind his brother to make the staring stop. If Sasuke noticed Naruto's uneasiness, he didn't show it. He has this determined look in his face that promised pure torture to anyone that stopped him from his destination.

            "Onii-chan?" Naruto called out more nervous than he was a minute ago. Naruto pulled at the hand that is tightly holding his hand in an attempted to get his brother to answer his question. "Onii-chan?" Naruto tried again.

            " Otou-san just told me to get some groceries for our picnic tomorrow," Sasuke finally answer, smiling down on the boy who is about three inch shorter than the older Uchiha. Unconsciously, Naruto frown at that action. Naruto knew that he is short for his age and Sasuke never fails to tease him about it.

            Loud murmuring brought Naruto back to the real world. He walked closer to his brother, practically wrapping his arms around the dark-haired boy, but caught himself in time. He started to hum inside his head just to not hear the voices of the villagers, but his mind came up blank. What a stupid time to have a black out. So, Naruto just decided to talk with Sasuke. They haven't done that for a while now because of Naruto's tendency to timid.

            "Ne, onii-chan, what's a picnic?" Naruto asked almost an almost desperate tone. Sasuke smiled softly at Naruto to comfort him. " Well, it's hard to explain really. We have it with family and close friends in a meadow or open field of sort. There will be lots of food and we all eat and enjoy each other's company."

            " Why don't we just do it at home? Won't it be more comfortable?" Naruto continued to ask, this time genuinely curious about his activity called "picnic". Sasuke laughed at Naruto's perspective, " Well, we go out to enjoy the nature and fell the sun's ray. Besides, don't you want something new to look at instead of always having to spend the time on the same place all your life?"

            " Demo, onii-chan, I like it at home. It's comfortable, quiet….and nice." Naruto's voice grew softer, his gaze on the floor to avoid looking at Sasuke or the Villagers. Sasuke's smile faltered, as he sighed inwardly, thinking, '_He has a point there.'_

            " Have you ever been to a picnic before?" Naruto questioned, his mood changing from melancholic into inquisitiveness in an instant. At times, Sasuke wonders how the boy does that, but Sasuke's not complaining since it is a sign that Naruto is healing from the deep wound.

"Yeah, I have. You were one and I was three, I think. Kakashi-san, Iruka-san and Jiraiya-sennin came with us. It was my first picnic."

" How was it? Did you enjoy?" Naruto bombarded Sasuke with questioned. Sasuke looked thoughtful for awhile. " I guess I did. It was messy at first because you were crying a storm from Jiraiya-sennin's loud voice."

_Flashback:_

_            "Ohayo, Itachi-kun, Sasuke-chan," Iruka greeted them as he entered the room holding a picnic basket in one hand. Kakashi entered after him and said his customary "Yo" to Itachi and affectionately ruffled Sasuke's hair. Itachi noticed Kakashi is also carrying a picnic basket._

_            "Isn't that too much food for only three adults, one child and a baby?" Itachi asked them as he closed the door. " (sigh) Someone invited himself. You just slammed the door in his face," Kakashi answered, simultaneously with an "Oaf" sound was heard. The door was quickly opened as a large white-hair guy rubbed his bruise nose and_ _looked angrily at Itachi growling, "TEME! Itachi! Is that how you treat the legendary Frog-sennin?!?"_

_            "Shhhh! Jiraiya-san! You'll wake up Naruto!" Itachi scolded the man, stifling the yearning to punch him. The proclaimed Frog-sennin blushed and grinned cheekily at Itachi silently saying that he is sorry. _

_            Itachi continued to glare at the man. "I should have expected you to come," Itachi mumbled to himself. " Well, you know me, always wanting to spend time with my three favorite shinobis," Jiraiya answered with a smirk. "And the fact that the place where we are going to is just beside the hot springs has nothing to do with it?" Itachi added with an inquiring look._

_            " That to. BWAHAHAHAH!" Jiraiya confessed, laughing loudly. The three adult sweat dropped, thinking, "Pervert." _

_            As if by cue, Naruto's loud cries rang throughout the house. "Shimatta! You woke hi up!" Itachi cried. He gave a death glare at the old man, instructed the quiet Sasuke to entertain the guest before rushing towards Naruto's nursery. _

_            "Sa, Sasuke-chan, are you excited?" Iruka asked the silent boy. Sasuke smiled a little and nodded his head. "Too bad Jiraiya-san is coming with us," Kakashi whispered to Sasuke, the boy just looked at Kakashi, not really understanding what's wrong if Jiraiya came. The more the merrier, right?_

_            Unfortunately of the copycat ninja, Jiraiya heard him and punched Kakashi, unable to evade it, hard on the head. After all, the man is one of the legendary sennin. _

_            "Humph! Ingrates!"_

_            Iruka laughed at his Koibito's wounded puppy looked. The adults made small talk as they waited for Itachi to come out of the Nursery. Sasuke was just idly sitting there, half-listening, half staring in no particular object or direction. Finally, Itachi came out carrying the baby in his arms and glaring at Jiraiya. _

_            "Hic….hic…" _

_            Itachi's glare turned murderous as Naruto continued to hiccup. "Mou! Look what you did. You scared him into hiccupping."_

_            Jiraiya laughed despite the angry look he is receiving from Itachi. "No matter how many times I see it, I still can't get used to you being all fatherly like that Itachi." The said man smiled as well, agreeing in a way. He rubbed Naruto's back to sooth the baby. Naruto's cheeks are a tab bit red from crying and his eyes have a glazy look but cleared once his eyesight fell on the people around him especially Jiraiya because of his striking white hair. Jiraiya in turn looked questionably at Naruto being the first time to see him._

_            "Ma, ma, we should get going or else will be there in time for dinner," Kakashi commented._

_            "Hmph! That's coming from somebody who is always late," Iruka tossed back. Kakashi gave him another wounded look, asking silently how Iruka can be so cruel. _

_End of Flashback._

            " Come to think of it, you were a cry baby as a child," Sasuke teased at Naruto, poking at his cheeks that burned red. "Onii-chan! Why do you like to tease me so much? Mou!" Naruto whined, feeling his face burn more at Sasuke's teasing grin. '_Because you look so cute and adorable.__ Besides, it makes you forget those dumb people's stares and mumbles_,' Sasuke thought to himself. Of course, he will never tell Naruto that outwardly.

            True to his words, Naruto seems to forget the people who are still staring/glaring at them. Man, they don't get tired to them. " I also remembered that you like to pull on my bangs," Sasuke continued to say to distract the boy as they near the market place. "I do? I wonder why? Your hair isn't that glossy or beautiful," Naruto told him, puffing his cheeks out. It's obvious that the boy is still sore over the crybaby comment.

            " And yours is?" Sasuke retorted, smiling because Naruto is finally warming up to him.

            Needless to say, the two returned quite late. Not that Sasuke was one to complain.

End of chapter six.

Author's Note: Sorry if it is a little short minna-san. It would be very boring if I try to lengthen it more. Anyway, there will be also a part like this for Neji and Gaara. I want to let you guys know how Naruto became their precious person. By this chapter, I guess I gave justice to the title. Anyhow, review everyone.


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